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After thousands of Women's March demonstrators took over the streets of New Orleans two years in a row, Angela Adkins noticed a sharp drop in support for this year's march.

“We began to be contacted by women who were concerned about what was coming out of national,” said Adkins, who chairs the New Orleans march and is president of the National Organization for Women’s Baton Rouge chapter. “People that were working with us began to question working with the Women’s March.”

Claims of anti-Semitism against the leaders of Women’s March Inc. have rocked the movement, with some local organizers looking to distance themselves from the group. Two of the leaders were accused of saying at a private organizing meeting that Jews bore a particular responsibility for the oppression of people of color, The New York Times and Tablet magazine reported — claims both leaders have denied.

The controversy has amplified recent divisions within the Women's March over the group's inclusiveness, after millions turned out worldwide for the first demonstrations in January 2017, largely in response to the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Fallout from the dispute has had an impact on local women's marches across the country, which are grappling with how to respond.

Adkins said the New Orleans march, which is affiliated with the national organization, had a “terrible time” fundraising since mid-November, taking in just over $600 of the roughly $8,000 to $10,000 needed for permits, police escorts, port-a-potties, speaker systems and more. Only about 500 people said they planned to attend, down from thousands in previous years.

At the end of December, organizers canceled the Jan. 19 march.

New Orleans was not alone in that decision; a group in Eureka, California, scrapped its march over concerns that it would be "overwhelmingly white," and organizers in Chicago replaced their January march with an event in October before the midterms and a day of action planned for March.

Other local march organizations — including in Rhode Island and Washington state — have splintered from the national group, while some — including the Women's March Los Angeles Foundation and Women's March Florida — have made a point of noting on their websites that they are unaffiliated with Women's March Inc.

The recent rifts stand in marked contrast to the message of unity sent by the massive, defiant and exuberant rallies the day after Trump's inauguration, one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history.

"The question that develops over time is: How do you maintain the mass participation and also, what are the next steps?" said Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor, professor of history at the University of California, Davis.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/national-women-s-march-was-rocked-claims-anti-semitism-now-n955816