Leslie Mac

Leslie MacFadyen,[1] known professionally as Leslie Mac, is a Jamaican-American activist and community organizer. She is a co-founder of the Ferguson Response Network, the co-creator of the Safety Pin Box monthly subscription service, and has created multiple digital campaigns such as #PayBlackWomen and #SlaveryWithASmile.[2][3]

Career

Mac attended Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism before she dropped out. She also worked as a trainer helping open the international locations of corporate restaurants chains, and later became an event planner.[4]

In 2014, she began grassroots organizing with the help of Feminista Jones, with whom she organized a National Moment of Silence (#NMOS14) vigil in the wake of Michael Brown's shooting death in Ferguson, MO.[4][5] Mac then founded the Ferguson Response Network in 2014 to help train people in peaceful protest,[6] and transitioned into full-time organizing.[7] She has helped organized events such as the Reclaim MLK March in Philadelphia on January 20, 2015.[1]

Mac was an activist in the Black Lives Matter of Unitarian Universalism, and helped organize a protest that interrupted a Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle during his campaign to become the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election.[8]

She developed the Twitter hashtag #SlaveryWithASmile in January 2016 to protest the publication of a children's book, A Birthday Cake for George Washington, which depicted an enslaved chef baking a cake for George Washington.[7] Authors such as Debbie Reese, Mikki Kendall, and Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas joined the hashtag. The book was removed from circulation by Scholastic on January 17, 2016.[7]

Together with fellow organizer Marissa Jenae Johnson, she developed Safety Pin Box in 2016, which is a monthly subscription box for "white people striving to be allies in the fight for Black Liberation."[8] The idea was influenced by the popular safety pin concept developed by a woman in the UK who suggested wearing pins as a sign of solidarity to racial minorities after the Brexit vote.[8] Each box offers specific steps white allies can take to engage in anti-racist allyship.[2]

In December 2016 Mac posted on Facebook about racism, and shortly after actor Matt McGorry shared her post on his account in support, Mac's account was banned.[9] After media coverage of the event, Facebook restored her account and stated that the banning had been an error.[9]

Mac created the Twitter hashtag #PayBlackWomen in July 2018 to highlight the racial disparity in pay between Black women and white men. Politicians such as Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Yvette Clark tweeted support of the hashtag.[10]

Personal life

Mac was born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York to Jamaican immigrant parents.[3][4] Mac is married and has been with her husband for 20 years.[3]

Awards
  • Woke 100 Women, Honoree #33, Essence (2017)[11]
  • Voices of the Year, Impact Award, BlogHer (2017)

References
  1. Nolen, Austin (2015-01-20). "Thousands March in Philadelphia to 'Reclaim MLK'". The Philly Declaration. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  2. "Leslie Mac and TaLynn are Bringing an Essential Discussion on Allyship To GeekGirlCon". Wear Your Voice. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  3. Williamson, Alexandra (2018-10-12). "Has a Changing Flatbush Put its Culture up for Sale?". BK Reader. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  4. "Black History Now: Leslie Mac—Grassroots Organizer, Connector, Facilitator and Advocate". Essence. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  5. Deutsch, Lindsay. "#NMOS14: Vigils to honor victims, protest police actions". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  6. Robinson, Janessa Elena; ContributorJanessaRobinson.com (2014-11-17). "Ferguson Response Network: Protesters Launch Nationwide Engagement Campaign". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  7. Older, Daniel José (2016-01-29). "The real censorship in children's books: smiling slaves is just the half of it". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  8. Lussenhop, Jessica (2016-12-13). "Safety Pin Box aims to get white people to step out of theirs". BBC. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  9. "Facebook temporarily banned a social justice activist for commenting on racism". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  10. Birnbaum, Emily (2018-07-31). "Dem lawmakers, activists get #PayBlackWomen trending". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  11. "ESSENCE Presents 'Woke 100 Women'". Essence. Retrieved 2020-01-03.


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