FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 5, 2024
MELINA ABDULLAH LEADS GANG TO THE DOOR OF BLM CHAIRWOMAN’S HOME IN ATLANTA AND PUBLISHES A THREATENING MESSAGE WITH A PHOTO. BLM CALLS ON CORNEL WEST TO REMOVE ABDULLAH FROM HIS CAMPAIGN AS HIS VP NOMINEE.
Atlanta, GA – Today, Black Lives Matter exposes a deeply alarming incident involving Dr. Cornel West’s running mate and vice presidential candidate, Melina Abdullah. This egregious act not only calls into question Dr. West’s judgment but also threatens the integrity of his entire campaign.
In a brazen act of harassment and intimidation, Melina Abdullah, backed by several accomplices, came up to the door of the home of our Board Chair, Cicley Gay, in Atlanta early on August 4, 2024. Abdullah and her cohorts shouted, “Cicley Gay, open the door. BLM Grassroots is BLM,” while ringing the doorbell, banging on the door, and dropping BLM Grassroots-branded paraphernalia on the front porch, all while using threatening language. They remained on the property, shouting incessantly, for 15-20 minutes, until neighbors called the police. Cicley’s son, who suffers from an anxiety disorder, was there alone at the time and was terrorized.
This was not a righteous protest; it was a calculated act of intimidation and harassment against our Board Chair, who has consistently and rightfully refused to grant Abdullah, whose birth name is Rachel Reimann, any authority as we rebuild this organization. This behavior, following our decisive legal victory against her, which now includes Abdullah being ordered to pay our legal fees, reveals her desperation and willingness to resort to bullying tactics.
“BLM Grassroots” has consistently lied in an attempt to discredit us and exclude us from spaces when we are trying to do the work for Black people. We call on movement leaders and anyone truly invested in the future of Black life to demand Abdullah and her gang from further stalking and harassing our leadership and this organization.
Elaine Brown, Former Chair of the Black Panther Party, stated: “This type of activity recalls the old FBI COINTELPRO tactics used against the Black Panther Party, where the government invents a Black organization to undermine a legitimate one. For example, the FBI employed Ron Karenga and his phony US Organization to disrupt and discredit the Black Panther Party and even murder Black Panthers. Similarly, it seems Melina Abdullah, a half-white woman, is engaging in actions to disrupt and undermine a legitimate Black organization, Black Lives Matter, and threaten its Chairwoman, Cicley Gay, a Black woman.”
Cicley Gay, Board Chair of Black Lives Matter, stated, “This is my family home where we have lived for years, well before I joined the Board to serve with BLM. To have this happen from someone Black and within the same movement is unacceptable. We have reached dangerous territory when we think it’s acceptable to treat people within a movement this way simply because someone is disgruntled. We call on Dr. Cornel West to remove her from his ticket. If she can’t handle a conflict within a movement, she is clearly not ready to be the Vice President of the United States.”
We also demand transparency and accountability: What funds are being used to support these outrageous, dangerous, and childish temper tantrums? Are these acts funded by Dr. West’s campaign, or are they misappropriating resources from the 501(c)(3) BLM Grassroots?
Shalomyah Bowers, a Black Lives Matter leader said: “Melina Abdullah is a piranha, preying on those who oppose her and sowing discord within the Black Lives Matter movement. It is perplexing why she has not been excommunicated from this movement yet. To travel from Los Angeles to Georgia, show up at 7 am, start banging on the door as if you are the police, and yelling is an act of desperation from an individual who has been stripped of authority at the demand of the BLM community and is now resorting to fear and intimidation. Cicley Gay is not an elected official; she is a private citizen. She holds no power within the government and is not part of law enforcement. She is not someone you should be concerned about, especially considering all of the real issues facing Black people in America and around the world.”
Black Lives Matter urges Cornel West to immediately remove Melina Abdullah from his campaign and condemn these actions unequivocally.
About Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
Our mission is to work inside and outside of the system to heal the past, re-imagine the present, and invest in the future of Black lives through policy change, education, healing justice, and a commitment to the arts. Our vision is to imagine a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles.
