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).[1]

Eugene Puryear
Personal details
Born (1986-02-28) February 28, 1986
Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyD.C. Statehood Green Party,
Party for Socialism and Liberation
Alma materHoward University
OccupationJournalist, activist

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.[2] His campaign put forward a 10-point program, which describes some of the policy positions taken by Puryear. On April 1, 2014, Puryear won the party's nomination, defeating G. Lee Aikin, 67.3% to 25.1%.[3] On November 4, 2014, Puryear placed sixth out of 14 candidates in the general election.[4]

Journalism

Puryear wrote the book Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America, which was published by PSL Publications.[5]

Puryear writes regularly for Liberation News, the newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.[6] He has co-edited some of the PSL's books, such as Imperialism in the 21st Century: Updating Lenin’s Theory a Century Later.[7] He is also the host of the daily political talk show By Any Means Necessary, on Radio Sputnik.[8][9]

Activism

Puryear studied at Howard University, where he became a lead organizer with the anti-war ANSWER coalition[10] and has helped organize large protests against the Israeli blockade of Gaza.[11] Puryear and the ANSWER coalition were involved in the campaign to free the Jena 6.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

Puryear has been deeply involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.[15]

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.[16]

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, as he would not have been at least 35 years old by Inauguration Day.[17] He was critical of the Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.[18]

References
  1. Meet Eugene Puryear Archived 2008-05-01 at the Wayback Machine at pslweb.org, accessed 9 June 2008,
  2. Sommer, Will (January 30, 2014). "Ward Candidates Meet in First Debate". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  3. "April 1, 2014 Primary Election Results". Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  4. "November 4, 2014 General Election Results". Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  5. "New Book - Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America". ANSWER Coalition. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  6. "Eugene Puryear". Liberation News. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  7. Party for Socialism and Liberation (2015). Imperialism in the 21st Century: Updating Lenin's Theory a Century Later. Liberation Media. pp. Copyright page. ISBN 978-0-9910303-2-3.
  8. "By Any Means Necessary". Sputnik News. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  9. "By Any Means Necessary". Spreaker. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  10. Johnson, Jenna (August 16, 2007). "Antiwar Group Refuses To Back Down on Signs". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  11. "Thousands descend on White House to protest Gaza war". Agence France-Presse. January 9, 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  12. Simmons, Christine. "'Jena 6' protesters demand action by Justice Department". The Herald Journal. Associated Press. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  13. Pierre, Robert E. (February 22, 2005). "Rekindling Howard U.'s Activist Fire". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  14. "US policy in the Middle East is extremely reckless, leading to deeper war tension". RT International. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  15. Sommer, Will (3 September 2015). "Activist Judged: Eugene Puryear Reinvents Himself As One of the Mayor's Newest Foes". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  16. Winger, Richard. "Party for Socialism and Liberation Announces Presidential Nominee". Ballot-access.org. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  17. Winger, Richard (July 24, 2015). "Party for Socialism and Liberation Announces 2016 Presidential Ticket". Ballot Access News. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  18. Ball, Molly (May 2016). "The Socialist Case Against Bernie". The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 November 2016.

Further reading
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