We invite You, Your Friends, Family and Colleagues to join us and a host of Sorority, Fraternity & Professional Organizations to Rally Against The Negative Mural demeaning Black & Latina Women In Times Square!!!!!!
Dear friends:
The single most important thing that we as a community can do this coming Wednesday is stand up and speak out against any and all negative depictations of the women from our community.
We are asking everyone to get on the phone, twitter, face book, my space, tagged and any other social network site that you are a part of and call for your network friends and colleagues to come out and stand with the beautiful and professional woman of color from our community as we denounce this negative stereo typical mural that was commissioned by the Times Square Alliance.
This is not even about the Latina artist and or her expression of how she sees NY she was only painting what they commissioned her to do in order to get her paycheck. They had the power to say no, this is not what we wanted, however they did not and the end result was a slap in the face of every woman of black and brown decent.
Our sisters pay taxes, they spend money in this city and they help to raise up our communities, we can not allow or afford these racial bigots to be the only ones to be seen and heard. Please come out and lets strike a blow for all the woman in our city.
We are asking for every sorority, fraternity, professional network org etc......to come out and defend our women's honor!!!!
Meet us at 6pm on 42nd Street bet 7th & 8th Ave for a Rally calling for this Mural to be Taken down!!!!!
RALLY TO REMOVE DEGRADING MURAL! WEDNESDAY!!
TIME: 6:00pm to 9:00pm LOCATION: 215 West 42nd Street (Bet: 7th & 8th Aves).
We need the help of ALL Meetup Groups, All Black and Latino Organizations!
Please send this letter to the Board of Driectors, listed below:
kathleen.kane@mtvn.com, Ellen.Albert@mtvstaff.com, dana.amendola@disney.com, staff@tdf.org, VictoriaB@tdf.org, info@actorsfund.org, JBenincasa@actorsfund.org, DBreslin@paramount-group.com, jboese@nederlander.com, ccahan@new42.org SGrushkin@new42.org HarryCoghlan@clearchannel.com, info@racohen.com, carlos@racohen.com, JConnolly@actorsequity.org, davisrealtynyc@yahoo.com, steven.durels@slgreen.com, DDurst@durst.org, dgillcrist@projectfind.org, mgilmartin@fcrc.com, DGreenbaum@vno.com, JGural@newmarkkf.com, rhaggerty@commonground.org, matthew.harrington@edelman.com, CHirsch@carolines.com, JKatz@sherwood-equities.com, ALevey@hudsonscenic.com, TLewis@newyorksightseeing.com, nicki.livanos@axa-equitable.com, YNamini@nytco.com, jujamcyn@jujamcyn.com, Richard_Rothbard@rfcuny.org, erudin@rudin.com, info@stlukesnyc.org, SSchofel@newmarkkf.com, RSelsam@bostonproperties.com, cstmartin@broadway.org, mike.stengel@marriott.com, Jessica.Gorman.Taylor@morganstanley.com,
To: Board of Directors
Times Square Alliance
c/o Tim Tompkins President
1560 Broadway #800
New York, NY 10036
Direct Line: 212-452-5202
Dear Board of Directors:
In honor of Women's History Month, I call on you to remove Mr. Glenn Weiss as the Director of Art Projects for the Times Square Alliance. There is a mural erected on 42nd St., between Broadway and Eighth Ave depicting Black and Latino women as cheap looking, sluts, hoes, and street walking prostitutes. The artist, Sofia Maldonado, claims that, "she’s bringing to Times Square a community of women from Harlem, Brooklyn and other boroughs that “tourists and even many New Yorkers don’t really go to.”
This art is an affront to all the hardworking Black and Latino women who struggle to maintain their dignity in a world that feels that there is no repercussions for disrespecting them. This mural is unacceptable. Black and Latino women should not be treated this way and depicted in such a negative light. Not one business or professional woman is represented in the mural for balance. This so-called "art" has been commissioned by The Times Square Alliance and Mr. Glenn Weiss. Ms. Maldonado is simply a tool used to promote an ideology.
I want to say to each and every one of you who serves on The Times Square Alliance Board, I hope you are all ashamed to be governors of this non-profit organization. In my humble opinion, what they have done may be the single most degrading moment in the history New York and one of the most disrespectful, shameful, and wounding attack on Black and Latino women. What is so warped and twisted is that Mr. Glenn Weiss choose Women's History Month to unveil this monstrosity called "art". This decision is very telling about his psyche and feelings towards women, Black and Latino women in particular. It is particularly shameful that The Times Square Alliance is reaping the benefits as a Business Improvement District provider. Is this improvement? Times Square is most visited travel landmark in the World. Is this how you choose to represent black and Latino women to the world?
For a non-profit company, using public money, to so brazenly use this moment in history to denigrate hardworking female citizens of the United States is reason to call for de-funding of this company. The President of the United States said that he will go through the budget line by line, and filter out anything that does not make any sense. This so-called, "art" does not make sense. What makes sense is to start a de-funding campaign, by going to every government official from New York to Washington D.C. to expose the use of funds by this non-profit organization.
Mr. Glenn Weiss, I call on you to resign, you have done more damage in your short tenure to the credibility and reputation of the The Times Square Alliance.
Members of the Board, if Mr. Glenn Weiss refuses to honorably step down, I call on you to remove him. There must be accountability.
