Bob Bland

Mari Lynn Foulger,[1][2] better known as Bob Bland (born December 17, 1982), is an American fashion designer and activist. Bland co-chaired the 2017 Women's March but later stepped down from the 2019 Women's March following accusations of anti-Semitism and various internal controversies.[3][4][5][6] She is also the CEO of Manufacture New York.

Bland at the Tax March in 2017

Early life and education

The daughter of two public school teachers, Bland was born in 1982 in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C.[7] She was sewing by the time she was eight years old and put on her first show in high school, with 32 original creations marching through the cafeteria[8] and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in fashion design.[7]

She served as a youth minister in Pohick Church,[2] and in 2005 when serving as summer staff in a Woods & Waters Workcamp said she wants her charges to "reach out to people and show them what Christ's love is".[9]

Fashion

She worked on the design floor for Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, and in parallel started her own label, Brooklyn Royalty in 2006.[7][10] Bland attempted to source production locally, but faced difficulties.[11] In 2014 Bland said that her line participated in four to five fashion week events since being founded.[12]

Manufacture New York and ethical fashion

In 2012 Bland founded Manufacture New York which operates a 160,000 square foot industrial plaza in Sunset Park, Brooklyn named Manufacturing Innovation Hub for Apparel, Textiles and Wearable Tech,[11] and a work hive for independent designers. Bland worked closely with congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and solicited grant money from NY city officials,[7] receiving grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Growth Accelerator Fund,[13] followed by a $3.5 million grant from New York City.[14] In 2016 the organization was part of an initiative named Advanced Functional Fabrics of America that was awarded $75M federal grant from the Department of Defense.[15][16][17]

Following the 2013 Savar building collapse which killed more than 1000 in Bangladesh, Bland has called for on-shoring of the apparel manufacturing industry saying that cheap fashion from off-shored manufacturing exacts a toll in lives and lack of sustainability.[18][19][7]

Women's March

Bland was an early member of the Facebook discussions and planning with Teresa Shook that would culminate in the Women's March on Washington and associated international marches held after the inauguration of Donald Trump.[1] She served as the Washington National co-chair of the organization when it was incorporated. Fortune magazine named her and the other public faces of the movement in a list of 100 greatest leaders in relation to the March.[1] Bland originated the idea of the Women's March on Washington and associated international marches held after the inauguration of Donald Trump. Bland tapped Linda Sarsour, Tamika Malory, and Carmen Perez as co-chairs in order to give the march a diverse leadership team.[20]

Bland later criticized the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. According to Bland, white women are complicit in white supremacy inasmuch as they benefit from white privilege, and therefore should let people of color take the lead in the struggle for civil rights.[21]

Accusations of anti-Semitism

In December 2018 a report by Tablet alleged that in the first meeting between Bland and the two other leaders in the movement, Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez, Jews were blamed for the marginalization of African Americans and the slave trade.[22][1] Bland denied that such remarks were made at that meeting.[1] Evvie Harmon, who was present at a later meeting between Mallory, Perez, Linda Sarsour and other key leaders in the movement (with the noted absence of Bland), stated to Tablet that Perez and Mallory made anti-Semitic statements toward Vanessa Wruble at that meeting.[1] Wruble left the movement shortly thereafter, and claims that her Jewish ethnicity was the main reason for her being pushed out.[23] The Zioness movement called the report by Tablet evidence of the "deep-seated, conspiratorial hatred of the Jewish people" among the movement's co-chairs,[22] and the Progressive Zionists of the California Democratic Party also released a statement condemning the findings in the report.[22]

In 2019, Bland garnered criticism for sharing a Facebook post by Jewish activist Jesse Rabinowitz which equated anti-Islamic rhetoric from the "American Jewish establishment" with the anti-Islamic motivations of the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shooting.[24] Rabinowitz had written, "The same language and hate that folks spew against Sisters Linda Sarsour and Rep. Ilhan Omar killed 54 Muslim's [sic] in New Zealand. You can't stand in solidarity with the Muslim community and simultaneously disavow Muslim women for speaking their truths. American Jewish Establishment, I'm looking at you."[24] Bland apologized for the sharing, stating that while she agreed with the first sentences in the post, she considered it wrong to single out only the establishment of one community.[24] The Zioness movement condemned the post as an attack on Jews.[24]

Bland, Mallory and Sarsour, have also been criticized for their ties with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan (who is notorious for his many antisemitic comments).[25] She faced backlash for defending Mallory who chose not to distance herself from Louis Farrakhan after attending one of his events.[25] At the event Farrakhan called Jews "satanic" and gave Mallory a public shout-out.[26] She, along with Mallory and Sarsour, stepped down from the Women's March in 2019.[27][26]

Personal life

Bland married her high school sweetheart, Michael Foulger, in 2009. They were wed at Trinity Church on Wall Street in New York City. They left the city after purchasing a historical home in West Philadelphia.[28]

Bland has two daughters, one born in 2011 and the other born shortly after the US election in 2016.[28][29] During the Women's march events in 2017 she often brought her baby girl on stage with her, had been photographed with her, and spoken on the topic of modern motherhood. She says it gives her new perspective and reason to improve the world.[30][31]

Honors and awards
  • New York Observer Brooklyn Machers List 2015: The New Industrialist[32]
  • Fortune 50 World's Greatest Leaders[33]
  • 2017 Time 100's Most Influential People[34]
  • 2017 Webby Award Social Movement of the Year[35]
  • Glamour Women of the Year (awarded to 24 organizers of the 2017 Women's March)[36]

References
  1. McSweeney, Leah; Siegel, Jacob (2018-12-10). "Is the Women's March Melting Down?". Tablet Magazine.
  2. GÉOPOLITIQUE(S) / LA TRANSITION PRÉSIDENTIELLE AMÉRICAINE, Market, 2017, issue 134, page 22
  3. Lang, Marissa J. "Women's March replaces three original leaders, after anti-Semitism accusations, with 16 board members". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  4. "Three founding Women's March leaders leaving board after anti-Semitism accusations". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  5. Stockman, Farah (2019-09-16). "Three Leaders of Women's March Group Step Down After Controversies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  6. Jones, Ja'han (2019-09-16). "3 Original Board Members Leave Women's March". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  7. Warrington, Ruby (October 9, 2013). "Manufacture New York Provides Production Facilities to Independent Designers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  8. Pasquarelli, Adrianne. "Bob Bland spices up fashion incubator". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  9. 'A road trip for Jesus', Midland Daily News, 10 July 2005
  10. "Why the Next Big Thing in Fashion Is Happening in Brooklyn". Inc.com. February 8, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  11. Friedman, Vanessa (April 30, 2016). "Brooklyn's Wearable Revolution". The New York Times.
  12. The Staggering Economics Behind New York Fashion Week (interview with Bland), 28 Aug 2014, racked
  13. Manufacture NY settles in Brooklyn, secures sole NYC SBA accelerator grant, October 20, 2014, technical.ly
  14. City grants $3.5M for textile making in Sunset Park: Manufacture NY, technical.ly, December 5, 2014
  15. Friedman, Arthur (May 10, 2016). "Manufacture New York Blossoms in Brooklyn". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  16. Manufacture NY and FIT partner to bring revolutionary textile innovation to New York, April 5, 2016, Manufacture NY and FIT press release
  17. New training hub to focus on high-tech textiles, Crain's New York, April 21, 2016
  18. When Cheap Fashion Kills, How Do We Go Forward?, Bob Bland, Real Clear Politics, April 24, 2014
  19. Cheap fashion kills people... (interview with Bland), RT, The Big Picture, April 30, 2014
  20. "How the Women's March Has United Progressives of All Stripes". Time. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  21. Cooney, Samantha (December 18, 2017). "Women's March Co-President Bob Bland Says White Women Need to 'Take a Seat' After Charlottesville". Motto. Time. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  22. "Zioness, Progressive CA Dem Zionists Condemn Women's March Over Anti-Semitism Report". Jewish Journal. 12 December 2018.
  23. Stockman, Farah (23 December 2018). "Women's March Roiled by Accusations of Anti-Semitism". The New York Times.
  24. "Women's March leader shares post linking 'American Jewish Establishment' to New Zealand mosque attacks". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. JTA. March 24, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  25. Pagano, John-Paul (8 March 2018). "The Women's March Has a Farrakhan Problem". The Atlantic. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  26. Feis, Aaron (2019-09-16). "Women's March cuts ties with Linda Sarsour, other leaders after anti-Semitism claims". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  27. Lang, Marissa J. (September 16, 2019). "Women's March replaces three original leaders, after anti-Semitism accusations, with 16 board members". The Washington Post.
  28. "Brooklyn Royalty". www.brooklynroyalty.com. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  29. The Women of the Women's March: Meet the Activists Who Are Planning One of the Largest Demonstrations in American History, W Magazine, January 19, 2017
  30. "Bob Bland Womens March". MOTHER. September 1, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  31. Gann, Jen (January 21, 2017). "Here's Why a Women's March Organizer Brought Her Baby Onstage". The Cut.
  32. "The New Brooklyn Machers: A Very Short List of Change Agents and Wavemakers". New York Observer. May 13, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  33. "Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland, and Carmen Perez". Fortune. March 23, 2017. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  34. "Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour: The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  35. "Meet This Year's Webby Special Achievement Winners". The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  36. Afshani, Anna Holmes,Miguel Reveriego,Deborah. "How the Women's March Organizers Sparked a Movement". Glamour. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
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