HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sunsara Taylor is an American
far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
political activist, and member of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (also known as RCP, The Revcoms, or Revcom) is a communist party in the United States led by Bob Avakian. Founded in 1975, the RCP has its origins in the New Communist movement of the 1960s-70s. The part ...
. She has been a vocal opponent of the
anti-abortion movement Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the leg ...
, the
sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...
, and U.S. imperialism, having previously debated these topics on
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
.


Activism

Taylor has been a co-host of ''The'' ''RNL – Revolution, Nothing Less – Show,'' a weekly YouTube show that advocates for global
communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between ...
grounded in
Bob Avakian Robert Bruce Avakian (born March 7, 1943) is an American political activist and Maoist philosopher who is the founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP). Early life Avakian was born on March 7, 1943, in Washington, ...
's work, since its founding in 2020. Many of the groups she leads have been described as
front groups A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gr ...
for RevCom and Avakian. In 2005, Taylor co-founded World Can't Wait. In a 2006 article for the group, "Comparing Bush to Hitler: Lessons for Today", she wrote that the
presidency of George W. Bush George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college victo ...
was "
fascistic Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hi ...
", and called for Bush to be "driven from office". Taylor is also a frontwoman for Stop Patriarchy and led the group's 2013 promotional tour, the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride. Stop Patriarchy has been described as the "pro-choice group Texas feminists hate" and has been criticized by Texans for Reproductive Justice for its "messaging, tactics, dishonesty, and racism". The group has elicited controversy for wearing chains and chanting, "Forced motherhood is female enslavement!" In response, Taylor accused Texans for Reproductive Justice of hypocrisy, citing their use of a flag that flew over half of Mexico and calling their hypocrisy "stunning". Taylor also led protests against the release of the film ''
Fifty Shades of Grey ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...
'' with Stop Patriarchy. In December 2015, Taylor and longtime activist Carl Dix announced the formation of
Refuse Fascism Refuse Fascism is a U.S.-based anti-fascist coalition organization, led by the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. Until the 2020 United States presidential election, it was characterized by its call for the removal of the first Trump administrat ...
, with the aim of stopping Donald Trump from being elected president in 2016. As a representative of the group, she spoke at the 2017 Women's March on Washington, protested outside
Trump Tower Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use condominium skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organiza ...
, tweeted video of protesters burning the U.S. flag, and drew media attention for comparing
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
during an appearance on ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American conservative talk show and current affairs program hosted by political commentator Tucker Carlson. The show aired on Fox News from November 14, 2016, to April 21, 2023, replacing '' On the Record'' ho ...
''. In an interview with
KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, which serves Southern California. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network. KPFK 90.7 FM be ...
, Taylor called for Trump to be "driven from office". On August 12, 2018, Taylor and other supporters of Refuse Fascism and the RCP took part in protests organized against the far-right Unite the Right 2 rally in Washington, D.C. In January 2022, Taylor, Merle Hoffman, and other pro-
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
activists initiated Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights (RU4AR), an
ad-hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances (compare with ''a pr ...
coalition formed to launch mass protests aimed at preventing the U.S. Supreme Court from overturning ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
'', affecting
abortion rights in the United States The United States abortion-rights movement (also known as the pro-choice movement) is a sociopolitical movement in the United States supporting the view that a woman should have the legal right to an elective abortion, meaning the right to termi ...
. RU4AR's launching statement was signed by prominent figures in the arts, law, and
the feminist movement ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
, including
Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...
,
Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an ou ...
,
Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...
, and V (formerly Eve Ensler). Throughout 2022, Taylor and other members of RU4AR led pro-abortion rights protests at places including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Union Square in New York City. The group has been accused of being a front for the Revolutionary Communist Party and diverting money away from abortion providers to RevCom's own operating structure, a charge that Taylor and her colleagues strenuously deny.


2016 RCP protests at the Republican National Convention

During the
2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...
, Taylor served as a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, addressing reporters outside the Cleveland Justice Center in what the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called a rare moment of attention for the party, and declaring that "America was never great". She later alleged Cleveland police had lied when they said they had intervened to stop a
flag burning A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have ...
due to a protester accidentally setting himself on fire.


Writing and commentary

Taylor hosts the weekly
WBAI-FM WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music ...
radio show ''We Only Want The World'', and formerly co-hosted ''Equal Time for Free Thought'' on the same station. She has written for ''Revolution'' and
Truthdig Truthdig is an American alternative news website that provides a mix of long-form articles, blog items, curated links, interviews, arts criticism, and commentary on current events that is delivered from a politically progressive, left-leaning ...
, and been featured as a guest on ''
The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
'', Tucker Carlson, the ''
Sean Hannity Show ''The Sean Hannity Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR ...
'', and other Fox shows. *"Government Policies Should Not Treat Women as Childbearing Vessels." In ''Women's Issues in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale'', ed. David Erik Nelson (Greenhaven Publishing, 2011), 133-37. ISBN 9780737758009.
A Response to Jezebel by Leaders of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights
" With Lori Sokol and Merle Hoffman. ''Counterpunch'' June 17, 2022.


References


External links


Archive of Taylor's writings at ''Rewire News Group'

We Only Want the World
WBAI Radio-NYC, hosted by Sunsara Taylor
Sunsara Taylor compares George W. Bush to Hitler in 2006 (YouTube)

2017 interview on Tucker Carlson Tonight (YouTube)
* Pier Harriso
Sunsara Taylor Kicks Off Feminist Lecture Tour At NYU, Wants You To Join Communist Party
NYU Local, Feb 24, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Sunsara Living people Marxist feminists Members of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA American socialist feminists Year of birth missing (living people)