Cornel West taps Black Lives Matter activist as his running mate

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has chosen his running mate as he seeks to increase the number of states where he has ballot access.

On Wednesday, West announced that Melina Abdullah, a founding member of the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles chapter, would be his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

He unveiled Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, as his vice presidential pick in an appearance on “The Tavis Smiley Show” Wednesday.

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“It is my profound honor to stand alongside my dear sister, Dr. Melina Abdullah, a fierce and tireless advocate for truth, justice, and transformative change,” West said in a statement. “Sister Melina’s incredible courage, keen intellect, and deep vision have greatly served the cause of liberation in education, worker rights, and both racial and gender justice.”

West praised her “unique Black analysis,” saying it will help “confront our crumbling era of empire, white supremacy, and patriarchy.”

“I look forward to working with her as we strengthen our commitment in our campaign for truth, justice and love!” West wrote. 

Abdullah said she is “deeply honored and humbled” to be selected as West’s vice presidential running mate. 

“This campaign offers a real vision for the world that stands in opposition to the oppressive forces and holds fast to the universal principles of truth, justice, and love,” she stated. 

“As we work arm-in-arm with justice-loving people everywhere, we reimagine and work to build a world that chooses goodwill over greed, courage over cowardice, and liberation over exploitation. Together, we are igniting a movement to not only dismantle harmful systems, but establish the firm foundations of a just, nurturing, and free world.”

Even before her selection as West’s running mate, Abdullah has received national attention.

In 2018, Abdullah conducted a libation at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in an attempt to summon the energy of late civil rights activists and African Americans who died in police custody. At the time, Christian scholar Hamilton Ayuk suggested that she was violating Scripture by pouring out a libation for someone besides the God of the Bible.

In 2020, radio host Abraham Hamilton III played audio clips of Abdullah discussing how she and fellow Black Lives Matter activist Patricia Cullors have “become very intimate with the spirits that we call on regularly.”

Abdullah described the Black Lives Matter movement as a “spiritual movement,” adding, “We’re literally standing on spilled blood.” Hamilton suggested that Abdullah and others “really believe that the names of the folks that they are saying have become ancestral gods.”

West is the second independent presidential candidate to announce a running mate in an attempt to juice a White House bid.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. selected Nicole Shanahan as his running mate late last month. 

As of April 11, West has secured ballot access in just four states: Alaska, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah. These states have a combined 26 electoral votes, far short of the 270 required to win the presidency. 

In the RealClearPolitics average of polls taken between March 21 and April 9 asking voters who they plan to support in the 2024 presidential election, West secures 1.7% support in a five-way race. He finishes slightly ahead of Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who has 1.5% support while remaining far behind former President Donald Trump’s 41.9% and President Joe Biden’s 40%. Kennedy comes in a distant third, with his support among the American electorate measured at 10%. 

West initially entered the race last year, seeking the nomination of the little-known People’s Party. He eventually switched to the Green Party before deciding on an independent run. 

Key pillars of West’s campaign platform include “fighting to end poverty, mass incarceration, ending wars and ecological collapse, guaranteeing housing, health care, education and living wages for all.”

“I care about the quality of your life, I care about whether you have access to a job with a living wage, decent housing, women having control over their bodies, healthcare for all, deescalating the destruction of the planet, [and] the destruction of American democracy,” West insisted in his campaign launch video. 

Abdullah’s addition to West’s presidential ticket makes her the fifth female vice presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris is on the Democratic presidential ticket as Biden’s running mate, while Kennedy has picked Shanahan as his running mate. 

Two lesser-known presidential candidates, Gloria La Riva of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Peter Sonski of the American Solidarity Party, have also selected female running mates: Karina Garcia and Lauren Onak, respectively. If elected, the West-Abdullah ticket would be the first administration to feature non-white candidates in the offices of both president and vice president.