Dr. Melina Abdullah, who leads the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, has often been described by the media as a professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State L.A. But don’t make the mistake of marginalizing her as a mere academic. Her street-cred is hardcore, and her familial and ideological roots trace back through generations of Marxist organizers, reaching back a hundred years to the Communist Party of the German Reich.
A founding member of what would become the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Abdullah has grown the L.A. branch to 500 members since its inception almost seven years ago. While many subscribed to a misconception that BLM had lost its relevance in recent years, local chapter leaders had moved on to another stage of an organizing strategy that was less visible than traditional publicity stunts like blocking traffic. By the time video of George Floyd’s tragic death sparked nationwide protests and outrage, mechanisms were already in place to advance BLM-inspired movements like defunding police departments into the mainstream.
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