FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, July 12, 2024
Cornel West for President
[email protected]

[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania] – The Cornel West for President campaign is pleased to announce that it has exceeded the required signature threshold for ballot access in Pennsylvania. The campaign is currently awaiting final certification from state authorities.

"This accomplishment represents a significant step forward in ensuring that Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to vote for a platform centered on truth, justice, and love," said Dr. Cornel West. "I am deeply grateful for the immense effort and dedication of our volunteers who have worked diligently to gather signatures across the state."

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state and achieving ballot access here is critical for the campaign's national strategy. The overwhelming response from volunteers and supporters highlights the growing demand for transformative leadership.

"The support and enthusiasm of Pennsylvanians has been truly inspiring," added vice-presidential running mate Dr. Melina Abdullah.”Pennsylvania is a working-class state and wants to elect leaders committed to improving the lives of everyday people, not bragging about their golf game and squandering taxpayer funds on endless unjust wars."

While the campaign awaits final certification, Dr. West and Dr. Abdullah are continuing to engage with communities throughout Pennsylvania and beyond, building momentum and broadening their impact as they prepare for the election. To date, the West/Abdullah campaign has secured ballot access in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Colorado, South Carolina, Utah, Oregon, Alaska, and Vermont, pending finalization of certification in certain states.

About Dr. Cornel West

Dr. West, affectionately known to many as Brother West, is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary.

Dr. West is the former University Professor at Harvard University, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and the first Black person to receive a Ph.D. In Philosophy from Princeton University. He has written 20 books and he is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He will deliver the historic Gifford lectures at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in Spring 2024.

Dr. West enters the 2024 Presidential contest at a time in which he describes a national crisis of moral bankruptcy and spiritual obscenity driven by a derelict duopoly of both major parties that equally places profits over people and the planet. West asserts that running as an Independent candidate affords him the opportunity and duty to deliver policy prescriptions incorporated by and for the people, instead of political parties beholden to corporations and special interest groups who feel no solidarity with poor and working-class people of all races, gender identities, and age groups.

The Cornel West Campaign to empower poor and working people everywhere stands at a pivotal moment in history, committed to being a true campaign for people around the globe. Our aim is and will always be to unite in solidarity with movements of truth and justice, who seek a choice beyond empire, white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and the confines of the corporate-dominated two-party system.

About Dr. Melina Abdullah

Melina Abdullah is Professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State LA’s College of Ethnic Studies, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter - Los Ángeles and Black Lives Matter Grassroots, where she is also Director. She is a leader in the California Faculty Association (the faculty union), both locally and statewide, and mama of three. Dr. Abdullah earned her Ph.D. from University of Southern California in Political Science and her B.A. from Howard University in African American Studies. Abdullah has authored numerous articles and book chapters. Known by the moniker, Doc Melly Mel, she is creator, host, and producer of the radio programs Move the Crowd on KPFK 90.7 FM and This Is Not a Drill! on KBLA Talk 1580, and is a recognized expert on race, gender, class, and social movements. In April 2024, Abdullah was announced as vice-presidential pick for Dr. Cornel West in his run for president of the United States on a platform of “Truth, Justice, and Love.” She is the first Muslim to run for the vice-presidency.

Learn more about Cornel West at CornelWest2024.com. 

Learn more about Dr. West’s Policy Pillars at CornelWest2024.com/Platform.

For more details and press inquiries, please contact [email protected].