Role Politician Name Eugene Puryear | Website eugenepuryear.com Occupation Journalist, activist | |
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From Washington DC: Eugene Puryear
Eugene Puryear (born February 28, 1986 in Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American journalist, author, activist, and politician. In 2014 he was a candidate for the at-large seat in the DC Council with the D.C. Statehood Green Party. In the 2008 and 2016 United States presidential elections, Puryear was the vice presidential nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
Contents
- From Washington DC Eugene Puryear
- Eugene Puryear A Real Alternative to Police Community Self Defense Blueprints for Alternatives
- Campaign for Council of the District of Columbia
- Journalism
- Activism
- Vice presidential campaigns
- References
Eugene Puryear: A Real Alternative to Police, Community Self-Defense & Blueprints for Alternatives
Campaign for Council of the District of Columbia
In 2014, Puryear ran as a D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate for the At-Large City Council seat held at the time by Anita Bonds. His campaign put forward a 10-point program, which describes some policy positions taken by Puryear. On April 1, 2014, Puryear won the party's nomination, defeating G. Lee Aikin, 67.3% to 25.1%. On November 4, 2014, Puryear placed sixth out of 14 candidates in the general election.
Journalism
Puryear is the author of the book Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America, which was published by PSL Publications.
He is also the host of the daily political talk show By Any Means Necessary, on Radio Sputnik.
Puryear writes regularly for Liberation News, the newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He has co-edited some of the PSL's books, such as Imperialism in the 21st Century: Updating Lenin’s Theory a Century Later.
Activism
Puryear studied at Howard University, where he became a lead organizer with the anti-war ANSWER coalition and has helped organize large protests against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Puryear and the ANSWER coalition were involved in the campaign to free the Jena 6. As a freshman at Howard in 2005, Puryear was interviewed by the Washington Post as an "activist-in-training" and cited his engagement with activism against gentrification, racism, the US occupation of Iraq and other issues.
In November 2010, RT interviewed Puryear regarding socialism in the United States. He has also appeared on RT to discuss U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East.
Puryear has been deeply involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Vice presidential campaigns
In 2008, Puryear ran on the Party for Socialism and Liberation's ticket alongside presidential nominee Gloria La Riva. The La Riva/Puryear slate was on the ballot in six states and received 6,818 total votes.
In July 2015, Puryear was announced as the running mate of Gloria La Riva, the Party for Socialism and Liberation's 2016 presidential nominee. However, he was not eligible to hold the office because he was not at least 35 years old. He was a critic of the Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.