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 be officially 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, Western Vermont endorsed 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 principal, and Clifton Louis West Jr., a general contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. He comes from a family with a strong oratorio 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, especially 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 graduating, he attended Harvard College, where he cultivated a strong interest in philosophy. West continued his academic pursuits at Princeton University, earning both a master’s degree and a doctorate in philosophy. Notably, he became the first black student to earn a doctorate in philosophy from that Ivy League institution. During his studies, he was closely involved with the philosophical figures who inspired the political thinking of the Black Panthers, including Karl Marx and WEB Du Bois, among others.

Religion has always been central to Dr.’s political project. West, and so do many black liberation activists. When black people were enslaved in the United States, faith and religion bound people together and became a place for community, a tradition that West still maintains as part of his political philosophy. West is a prolific writer who has published more than a dozen books on justice, with a particular emphasis on racial justice, including Race Matters, The Future of the Race, and Black Prophetic Fire.

Cornell West’s candidate for President of the US

The West campaign has focused on justice issues, including race, health, environmental politics and human rights. His presidential career was turbulent, jumping from party to party until settling for 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 among black women was nearly three times that of white women. These shocking differences are really being talked about, and West wanted to change that with his campaign. “This policy is in recognition of the grave injustices faced by Black mothers in the United States, who experience disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity,” reads West’s campaign website, where he presents some of the actions his administration would take if they would be elected. Some of the measures include increased government funding for maternal health care services that are “tailored to the needs of Black women” and training in cultural competency and implicit bias for medical professionals who often do not realize that their biases are hurting the lives of their mothers and to threaten. patients.

Other issues the campaign has focused on include justice for older people and children and the protection of the rights of children and older people, global justice and anti-imperialism, and immigration justice.

Candidates like West knew they wouldn’t win, but their candidacy is intended to raise awareness and inform the electorate that a different kind of politics exists.