Sunil Freeman: Meet the Other Indian American 2020 Vice Presidential Candidate
- He is the running mate of the nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Kamala Devi Harris is not the only Indian American candidate on the Vice Presidential ballot. Meet Sunil Freeman, a Maryland-based poet, author, activist, socialist, among other things. He is the running mate of Gloria La Riva, 2020 presidential nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Sunil Freeman is better known, particularly in the Washington D.C. metropolitan circles, as a poet and essayist, and he has contributed to and edited several literary journals. He describes himself as an anti-racist and disability rights advocate.
Although he is on the presidential ballot, he is a lesser known Indian American socialist as compared to Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant.
According to their campaign website, Sunil Freeman “is the child of parents who met as workers at the refugee camp in Kurukshetra during the time of India’s independence and partition. Growing up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C., Sunil, along with his family, were active participants in the mass anti-Vietnam War movement, formative experiences that brought Sunil into solidarity with all the movements of the oppressed sweeping the world during that time. Sunil, a poet and essayist, has contributed to and edited major literary journals. He joined the PSL in 2005 after becoming an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition in the anti-Iraq War movement. Sunil has participated in and organized dozens of events in opposition to US wars abroad, against the US blockade of Cuba, and against criminal sanctions levied by the US against a range of countries.”
Beyond that, there’s not much else known about Freeman.
La Riva and Freeman are on the ballot in 14 states, including Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington state. La Riva is an official write-in candidate in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas and W. Virginia.
Curiously, they are registered under different parties in different states, including Peace and Freedom Party. The party’s website quotes Gloria La Riva as saying, “We are honored to be the nominees of the Peace and Freedom Party. We are running not just to represent voters, but to represent the millions without the right to vote: undocumented immigrants, permanent residents, prisoners and parolees who are unable to cast a ballot. This is their country too.”