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Women’s Alliance for Democracy and Justice

Location:

Montgomery County, Maryland
Founded:

2016
Founder:

Jean Gearon

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Women’s Alliance for Democracy and Justice is a left-of-center advocacy organization based in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was formed after the election of President Donald Trump in 2016.

The organization may be defunct as of April 2022. A website that was given for the organization no longer works, and the organization has not been in the news since the election of President Joe Biden in 2020. 1

The organization took part in the first Women’s March on Washington in 2017 and has continued to have a relationship with that organization. Its founder and leader, Jean Gearon, was a speaker at the 2018 Women’s March on Washington. 2

Its founding and its leader were also featured in a documentary called Resisterhood which profiled the organization and other left-of-center groups that were formed by women after the election of Donald Trump. 3

Overview

The Women’s Alliance for Democracy and Justice is a left-of-center advocacy organization based in Montgomery County, Maryland. The organization is one of many “resistance” organizations that were founded in the wake of the election of President Donald Trump in 2016. 4

The organization was founded by Jean Gearon on November 9, 2016, immediately after results showed that Donald Trump had been elected President. The organization was founded with the goals of training and educating women of all ages to act politically and socially to implement left-of-center positions on protecting and defending civil rights and diversity, ensuring free and fair elections across the nation, and opposing election integrity and voter ID laws to elect more left-of-center politicians and encourage them to implement left-of-center policies, and to push for more radical environmental policies. 5

History

After the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Jean Gearon she sent an email to her book club that said, “I think it would be comforting and empowering for a group of women to come together on a regular basis to begin to figure out how to make a difference.” A week after that email was sent, the first of meeting of what became the Women’s Alliance for Democracy and Justice was held. 6

The organization from the beginning had affiliations with the Women’s March. Members participated in the first one in 2017, and Gearon spoke at the 2018 Women’s March in Washington, D.C.. 7

As of January 2018, the organization had a membership of 355 according to Gearon. Gearon gave the membership figure during a videotaped speech she gave at the 2018 Women’s March. 8

In January 2018, the organization hosted a forum in Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District that featured all the Democratic candidates and a Libertarian candidate. Originally, the organization planned on excluding the Libertarian candidate, along with all the Republican candidates, but the group admitted the Libertarian candidate after supporters complained to the organization. 9

In January 2018, Gearon gave an interview to Voice of America in which she detailed the ways her members were helping Democrats take control of Congress. She said she gives her members simple scripts so they can talk to voters. 10

In February 2018, the organization signed a letter issued by the Sierra Club’s Maryland chapter that called on the state to stop subsidizing the construction of fields and playgrounds that use artificial turf. The organizations alleged that the fields posed a threat to human health and the environment. 11

On the state level, the organization is a member of the Maryland Legislative Coalition, a coalition of left-of-center organizations, that lobby for left-of-center legislation in Maryland. 12

The organization and its founder, Jean Gearon, is one of the organizations profiled in the documentary Resisterhood. 13

As of April 2022, the organization could be defunct. A website associated with the organization is no longer active. 14

Leadership

Jean Gearon is the founder and the leader of the organization. She is a clinical psychologist practicing in Washington, D.C. She is the great-granddaughter of Edith Houghton Hooker, a suffragist campaigner who marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in 1913. Gearon has claimed that she was not active in politics except for voting before founding Women’s Alliance for Democracy and Justice. 15

References

  1. “Our Member Groups”. Maryland Legislative Coalition. Accessed April 11, 2022. http://mdlc.tpmobilization.org/member-groups.
  2. “Women’s March On Washington 2018: March To The Polls!”.  Women’s March On DC. Accessed April 11, 2022 https://www.marchdc.com/speakers/.
  3. Crim, Cheryl Jacobs. “The Rise Of The Resisterhood”. Gender On The Ballot. Oct. 29, 2020 https://www.genderontheballot.org/the-rise-of-the-resisterhood/.
  4. “Women’s March On Washington 2018: March To The Polls!”.  Women’s March On DC. Accessed April 11, 2022 https://www.marchdc.com/speakers/.
  5. “Women’s March On Washington 2018: March To The Polls!”.  Women’s March On DC. Accessed April 11, 2022 https://www.marchdc.com/speakers/.
  6. Crim, Cheryl Jacobs. “The Rise Of The Resisterhood”. Gender On The Ballot. Oct. 29, 2020 https://www.genderontheballot.org/the-rise-of-the-resisterhood/.
  7. “Women’s March On Washington 2018: March To The Polls!”.  Women’s March On DC. Accessed April 11, 2022 https://www.marchdc.com/speakers/.
  8.  CSPAN.  User Clip: Dr. Jean Gearon, Women’s Alliance For Democracy And Justice. Video. Jan. 20, 2018 https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4710210/user-clip-dr-jean-gearon-womens-alliance-democracy-justice.
  9. Miner, Ryan. “[VIDEO] Women’s Alliance For Democracy & Justice CD-6 Forum”. A Miner Detail. Jan 21, 2018 https://aminerdetail.com/video-womens-alliance-for-democracy-justice-cd-6-forum/.
  10. Presutti, Carolyn. “US Democrats: Grassroots Action Key To 2018 Election Wins”. VOA. Jan. 26, 2018 https://www.voanews.com/a/us-democrats-2018-midterm-election/4225807.html.
  11. “21 Organizations And Business Urge MD Leaders To Stop Subsidizing The Construction Of Unsafe, Unhealthy Synthetic Turf Fields And Playgrounds.”. Sierra Club. Feb. 21, 2018 https://www.sierraclub.org/maryland/blog/2018/02/21-organizations-and-business-urge-md-leaders-stop-subsidizing-construction.
  12. [1] “Our Member Groups”. Maryland Legislative Coalition. Accessed April 11, 2022. http://mdlc.tpmobilization.org/member-groups.
  13. Crim, Cheryl Jacobs. “The Rise Of The Resisterhood”. Gender On The Ballot. Oct. 29, 2020 https://www.genderontheballot.org/the-rise-of-the-resisterhood/.
  14. “Our Member Groups”. Maryland Legislative Coalition. Accessed April 11, 2022. http://mdlc.tpmobilization.org/member-groups.
  15. Women’s March On Washington 2018: March To The Polls!”.  Women’s March On DC. Accessed April 11, 2022 https://www.marchdc.com/speakers/.
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