Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has announced that he has chosen Black Lives Matter co-founder Melina Abdullah as his running mate.
Mr. West made the announcement on Wednesday’s episode of “The Tavis Smiley Show” on KBLA 1580 radio.
“I wanted somebody whose heart, mind, and soul is committed to the empowerment of poor and working peoples of all colors,” Mr. West said on the radio show. “Melina has a history of longevity of putting her heart, mind and soul in the struggle.”
Ms. Abdullah, 51, is a professor of Pan-African studies and former chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University. She is a co-founder of the Los Angeles BLM chapter and of Black Lives Matter Grassroots.
She said she had not been expecting a call from Mr. West asking her to be his running mate.
“He and his wife, Annahita, asked and immediately my heart just soared,” she said. “I said ‘yes’ immediately. Like, shouted ‘yes.’”
She said she first met Mr. West, now a professor at Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan, when she was an undergraduate student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and said they recently reconnected at a Black Lives Matter event.
During the radio show, Ms. Abdullah discussed her Muslim faith, noting the significance of the announcement during Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan’s month of daytime fasting.
“I’m running for Jesus. She’s running for Allah. That’s a beautiful thing,” Mr. West said.
Mr. West has switched political parties at least twice in recent months, having left the People’s Party and the Green Party. He announced in February that he was forming the Justice for All Party. He is currently on the ballot in Alaska, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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