Why We’re Joining the Campaign to ‘Drop the ADL’

In the fall of 2020, I accepted the offer for a spot in the Civil Society Fellowship class of 2021. The fellowship is a partnership between the Aspen Institute and the American Defamation League (ADL) that allows participants to launch a leadership venture tackling a societal problem of their choosing. The fellowship chooses leaders from all walks of life, and I was selected along with chiefs of police, educators, journalists, lawyers, poets, athletes and even folks from within the Koch network.

I knew that the fellowship was problematic when I said yes —the nonprofit industrial complex is full of problematic programs— but felt that it was important to enter into spaces where the Koch network is dominating the conversation and be a civilly dissenting voice. A few weeks ago I was contacted by the members of the Drop the ADL working group. Upon entering the fellowship, I was unaware that more than 100 progressive organizations signed on to an open letter asking communities to say no to the Anti-Defamation League in our schools, coalitions, and movement. I’ve spent the last few weeks researching and learning about the harmful history of the ADL (via the Drop the ADL campaign). I began to realize that the ADL —with support of entities like the Koch network— uses more progressive organizations and programs, like the Civil Society Fellowship and Aspen Institute, to image launder and obfuscate their history and current problematic nature. As a Black woman with Indigenous roots, it has become critical to be in solidarity with people and communities experiencing settler colonization, state sanctioned violence, and military police states. We’ve seen the outcome of state sanctioned violence here in the US, in Ferguson, in Minnesota, and elsewhere. But, it’s not just here — this is a global issue. 

The more I understood about the ADL and how antithetical they were to my own beliefs and values and the mission and values of our work at UnKoch, I had to respond. I wrote an open letter  with Percilla Frizzell, another fellow in the program, explaining all the reasons why Civil Society should drop the ADL. I have hopes of staying in the Civil Society Fellowship. I cannot, however, support the response to wait patiently and “have more conversation.'' Children and adults are being killed in Gaza while we wait to have a conversation, so we’re left with no choice but to act. 

UnKoch is joining over 100 well-respected racial, economic, and social justice organizations in signing an open letter  to “Drop the ADL.” After many years of the ADL sabotaging progressive, multiracial organizing efforts, and organizers being unable to change the ADL through dialogue and engagement, this action is the next step toward necessary change. We’re calling on UnKoch’s progressive partners to also sign on and endorse the campaign. 

We’re also asking the organizations that have vowed to drop the ADL to additionally commit to “no more Koch cash”— our campaign to refuse to image launder Koch and his network in our schools, communities, coalitions, and movements by refusing his money. For us, this is all connected. The same wealthy donor network run by Charles Koch underwriters the ADL’s efforts. 

We encourage you to show support by signing on to Drop the ADL, and joining us in our mission to say no to more Koch money. 

In Solidarity,

Jasmine Banks, Executive Director