Updated 9:15 a.m.
Sacramento could have its first home-grown president in progressive educator — and John F. Kennedy High School track star and graduate — Cornel West.
West declared his third-party candidacy in a video announcement on Monday morning, saying “neither political party wants to tell the truth.” He also appeared on actor and comedian Russell Brand’s podcast to talk further about the announcement.
No third-party candidate has won an election since the Republican Party became a major party in 1860.
“I enter in the quest for truth, I enter in the quest for justice,” he said. “The presidency is just one vehicle to pursue that truth and justice — what I’ve been trying to do all my life.”
He’s running as part of the People’s Party, a “progressive populist party” founded in 2017 by former Bernie Sanders staffer Nick Brana with six main issues: creating true democracy, revitalizing the economy, Medicare for All, ending wars, expanding civil liberties and protecting the environment.
The party has received criticism on some of its social media comments, namely one that poked at inclusive language as a form of “canceling” women.
In his announcement, West, who is an avowed socialist and a former honorary chair for the Democratic Socialists of America, says his priorities include “access to a job, a living wage, healthcare for all, women having control over their bodies [and] de-escalating the destruction of the planet.”
“I come from a tradition where I care about you,” he said. “I come from a tradition where I care about the quality of your life.”
That tradition traces back to his first loves, of which he told Sactown Magazine in 2019 were based in Sacramento — “Mom and Dad and Shiloh Baptist Church.” West and his family moved to Sacramento from Tulsa in 1958, where they settled in the integrated neighborhood of Glen Elder before moving to South Land Park.
“Anytime I give a speech, I can’t tell a story about who I am right now without telling a story about Sacramento and its impact on me. I’ve been away for 50 years, but I’m Sacramentan to the core,” he said.
Over the years, West has worn several hats. While he’s currently the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary, he’s also taught as a professor at Princeton and Harvard, and is a musical scholar who’s recorded three albums (one of which includes the aptly-named song “Mr. President”).
A frequent, prolific lecturer, he’s appeared on talk shows and podcasts, and has also been involved with community efforts — during his 3-year stint as a Harvard undergrad in college, he helped out with Black Panther’s free breakfast programs. He’s authored 20 books focused on race, class and gender in society.
With his announcement, West joins the growing number of candidates who have declared their intention to run, including Democrats Joe Biden, Marianne Wiliamson and Robert F. Kennedy and Republicans Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Larry Elder.
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