Who is Cornel West, the American activist running for the Justice For All Party in the 2024 US election?

Dr. West will not appear on the ballot in enough states to win unless he receives enough write-in votes in states where he is not formally listed. He will officially be listed as a candidate in 15 states, which together account for a total of 139 Electoral College votes. In the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries, West Vermont supported Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Early Life of Cornell West

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1953, the presidential candidate is the son of Irene Rayshell, a dedicated teacher and school administrator, and Clifton Louis West Jr., a general contractor for the US Department of Defense. He comes from a family with a strong speaking tradition; his grandfather, Clifton L. West, served as pastor of the Tulsa Metropolitan Baptist Church.

Growing up in Northern California, he was influenced by the intense racial politics of the time, particularly the rise of the Black Panther Party. He completed his high school education at John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, where he spent much of his formative years. After graduation, he attended Harvard College, where he developed a strong interest in philosophy. West continued his academic pursuits at Princeton University, earning both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in philosophy. Notably, he became the first black student to earn a PhD in philosophy from the Ivy League institution. Throughout his studies, he engaged deeply with the philosophical figures who inspired the political thought of the Black Panthers, including Karl Marx and WEB Du Bois, among others.

Religion has always been decisive for Dr. West’s political project, which is true for many black liberationists. When black people were enslaved in the United States, faith and religion bound people together and became a place of community, a tradition West continues to hold as part of his political philosophy. West is a prolific author who has published over a dozen books on justice, with a particular focus on racial justice, including Race Matters, The Future of the Race, and Black Prophetic Fire.

Cornell West’s candidacy for President of the United States

The West campaign has focused on justice issues, including race, health, environmental policy, and human rights. His presidential run has been turbulent, jumping from party to party until he decided on an independent run with the Justice for All party.

One of the ‘pillars’ of the campaign is Black Maternal Justice, which draws attention to the unjustified threat black women face when pregnant. In the United States, the maternal mortality rate for black women was nearly three times that of white women. These shocking disparities are really being talked about, and West aimed to change that with his campaign. “This policy is a recognition of the grave injustices faced by black mothers in the United States, who endure disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity,” West’s campaign website says, laying out a few actions his administration would take, if he was elected. Some of the measures include increased public funding for maternal health services that are “tailored to the needs of black women” and cultural competency and implicit bias training for doctors who often don’t realize their biases are harming and threatening their lives. patients.

Other issues the campaign has focused on include elder and child justice and protecting the rights of children and the elderly, global justice and anti-imperialism, and immigration justice.

Candidates like West knew they wouldn’t win, but their candidacies aim to raise awareness and inform voters that a different kind of politics exists.