Woman Who Sued Black Lives Matter Leader Is Cornel West's Vice President

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has selected academic and racial justice activist Melina Abdullah as his 2024 running mate.

Abdullah is a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and a professor at California State University, Los Angeles. West made the announcement during a Wednesday appearance on The Tavis Smiley Show, telling the radio host, "I wanted someone whose heart, mind, and soul is committed to the empowerment of poor and working people."

In 2022, Abdullah sued Shalomyah Bowers, an executive at the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLM GNF), accusing him of "siphoning" more than $10 million from donors to pay his consulting firm and using the nonprofit as his "personal piggy bank." BLM GNF was described in the lawsuit as an extension of the grassroots organization. Bowers denied the claims as "harmful, divisive, and false."

The suit was dismissed in June 2023 and Abdullah was ordered to pay Bowers $100,698 in legal fees by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge last month.

Abdullah addressed the lawsuit during her VP announcement on Wednesday after Smiley asked if her affiliation with the BLM movement carried "baggage" to West's presidential campaign.

"There's one lawsuit or was one lawsuit. Black Lives Matter grassroots which is the boots on the ground, my side of things, we had our resources and platforms stolen by this other entity, which is comprised of highly paid consultants, not organizers," she said. "We sued for our resources back. Unfortunately, that lawsuit was blocked by something called an anti-SLAPP motion." SLAPP, also known as strategic lawsuit against public participation, are lawsuits that intend to silence critics by hitting them with a costly legal defense.

"So, there are no suits against our side of things. Black Lives Matter grassroots is the authentic boots on the ground; it's what we intended to do when we birthed this movement," Abdullah continued. "I think some people might see it as baggage, but I actually see the work and the experience of organizing and the kind of authenticity of our work as being something that actually fuels this campaign."

BLM GNF celebrated the dismissal of the suit last year, calling Abdullah's lawsuit "frivolous" and accusing her of "blatantly and intentionally" lying about Bowers to "garner salacious news headlines."

"BLM Grassroots and Melina Abdullah will have to square away a deep hypocrisy that has existed since the onset of this case," Byron McLain, an attorney for BLM GNF said in a June 28, 2023 statement. "They claim to love Black Lives Matter, yet simultaneously they worked very hard at trying to dismantle, divide, and destroy it in the past year through this lawsuit, by contradicting and undermining the very principles of the Black Lives Matter movement."

On Wednesday, Abdullah noted that BLM would not break with its tradition to support her bid for the vice presidency.

"Black Lives Matter does not endorse candidates, right? So, Black Lives Matter will not be endorsing me," she said. "People within Black Lives Matter, my prayer and hope is that they'll come with us."

Abdullah said she would continue to bring their values and mission with her into the presidential race and that even though the movement was not endorsing her, her affiliation with the group would give her and West "an elevated platform." She also vowed to "never step away" from the grassroots organization.

After initially running for the Democratic nomination, West switched his affiliation to the Green Party before deciding to run as an independent. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also running as an independent. West's platform is much more progressive than both Kennedy's and President Joe Biden's, focusing on social justice and wealth redistribution.

On Wednesday, West praised Abdullah for her "record of deep commitment and investment in ensuring poor and working people are at the center of her vision."