Feminist to Know: Tamika Mallory

Tamika Mallory is a contemporary organizer who has been a leader in the Women’s Marches and the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Mallory was born in NYC to activists and founding members of the National Action Network (NAN) led by Reverend Al Sharpton. Mallory took an interest in civil rights and social justice activism through her parents, becoming a NAN staff member at 15 and later being appointed the organization's Executive Director in 2009.

In 2017, Mallory helped to organize the Women’s March to ensure a focus on intersectional issues. She later became the National Director of the Women’s March organization and continued to organize with the group until 2019. Last year, she gave a viral speech addressing right-wing condemnations of Black Lives Matter protests.

Her activism on issues of reproductive justice & feminism, police brutality, mass incarceration, and gun control have earned her honors such as the Coretta Scott King Legacy Award, a place on the 2017 Time 100 Pioneers list, and the praise of former President Barack Obama. Mallory is one of the preeminent reproductive justice and women’s rights activists of our time.