Melina Abdullah
Melina Abdullah | |
---|---|
Born | Melina Rachel Reimann |
Education | Howard University (BA) University of Southern California (MA, PhD) |
Employer | California State University, Los Angeles |
Relatives | Günter Reimann (grandfather) |
Melina Abdullah (born Melina Rachel Reimann on September 18, 1972)[1] is an American academic, Marxist and civic leader. She is the former chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter.
Early life and education[]
Melina Rachel Reimann was born on September 18, 1972 at East Oakland, Oakland, California, U.S.[2] Her father, John Reimann, was "a union organizer and self-proclaimed Trotskyist."[2] Her mother is Linda Fowler Blackston and she was raised by Oji "Baba" Blackston. Her paternal grandfather was Günter Reimann (born Hans Steinicke), a German-Jewish Marxist economist and member of the Communist Party of Germany who opposed Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.[3][4][5]
She graduated from Howard University, where she earned a bachelor's of arts (B.A.) degree in African American Studies.[6] She subsequently earned a master's degree (M.A.) and doctoral degree (PhD.) in political science from the University of Southern California.[6][7] Reimann changed her surname to Abdullah due to her marriage to filmmaker Phaylen Abdullah and kept the name after their divorce.[8]
Activism[]
Abdullah is a self-described "womanist scholar-activist". She has said that her academic roles are connected with her activist role in fighting for liberating those who have been exploited many times.[9] She serves on several boards, including Black Community, Clergy and Labor Alliance (BCCLA), Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA-CAN), and Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE).[6]
Career[]
Abdullah is a tenured professor and served as chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles.[6] She was interviewed in 13th, a 2016 documentary about mass incarceration in the United States.
Abdullah has served on the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission since 2014.[6] She is a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Los Angeles, California.[2] She was arrested and released after paying a $20,000 bail in May 2018.[10] Abdullah regularly writes articles for the LA Progressive.[11]
Personal life[]
Abdullah resides in Crenshaw, a neighborhood of Los Angeles.[2] She has three children.[2]
References[]
- ^ "Veromi.net | People Summary". veromi.net. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Aron, Hillel (November 9, 2015). "These Savvy Women Have Made Black Lives Matter the Most Crucial Left-Wing Movement Today". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ McGahan, Jason (21 January 2019). "The People v. Melina Abdullah". theLAnd. 1 (1).
- ^ "Profiles: Günter Reimann", Mises Institute.
- ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (April 4, 2005). "Guenter Reimann, Economic Publisher, Is Dead at 100". The New York Times.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Melina Abdullah". Department of Pan-African Studies. California State University, Los Angeles. 23 November 2013. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "Pan-African Studies | Melina Abdullah". Cal State LA. November 23, 2013. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ "Black Lives Matter L.A. Leader Melina Abdullah is One of the Most Outspoken Critics of the LAPD. Now She's Facing Eight Criminal Charges". theLAnd. 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- ^ "Pan-African Studies | Melina Abdullah". Cal State LA. 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- ^ "Melina Abdullah, professor and co-founder of BLM Los Angeles, on police commission hearing arrest". Fox 11. May 9, 2018. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ Abdullah, Melina (April 16, 2020). "Black Los Angeles Demands in Light of COVID-19 and Rates of Black Death". LA Progressive. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
External links[]
- 1972 births
- Living people
- Activists from Oakland, California
- People from Crenshaw, Los Angeles
- Howard University alumni
- University of Southern California alumni
- California State University, Los Angeles faculty
- African-American women academics
- African-American academics
- Black Lives Matter people
- Activists from Los Angeles
- American Trotskyists
- American women academics
- American people of German-Jewish descent
- 21st-century American women