Melina Abdullah

Melina Abdullah (born Melina Rachel Reimann on September 18, 1972) is an American academic, civic leader, and co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter Grassroots. She served as the chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. As an original member of Black Lives Matter, she has played a significant role in the movement, serving as a matriarch for the current movement in Los Angeles. Abdullah has also hosted local radio shows including 'Move the Crowd' and 'Beautiful Struggle' on KPFK and 'This Is Not a Drill' on KBLA. She was born in East Oakland, California and is the daughter of a union organizer and self-proclaimed Trotskyist father.