Sunil Freeman (active 1989-present) is an American socialist political candidate, activist, and poet who was the Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee for vice-president in the 2020 Presidential election.[1][2] Freeman is the Assistant Director of The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland.[3]

Sunil Freeman
Freeman in 2014
Political partyParty for Socialism and Liberation
Parents
  • Charles Freeman (father)
  • Flora Navita (mother)

Early life and career

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Freeman was born to Flora Navita, an Indian teacher working at a refugee camp in Varanasi, and Charles Freeman, an American who visited India as part of an American peace group in Raleigh, North Carolina.[3][4] Accourding to Sunil, his mother retained her Indian citizenship and was raised in New Delhi, where she attended Isabel Thoburn College.[4] Freeman grew up in Maryland outside of Washington, D.C., and both of his parents strongly opposed the Vietnam War.[5][6]

During the 1980s, he worked for The Washington Post as a critic.[7] As of 2010, Freedman is the Assistant Director of The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland.[3]

Activism and political candidacy

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He joined the Party for Socialism and Liberation in 2005 after becoming an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition in the anti-Iraq War movement.[5][8] He also took part in opposition to the Cuba Embargo and against sanctions levied by the US against multiple foreign nations.[9]

2020 Vice-Presidential Campaign

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Freeman joined the Party for Socialism and Liberation ticket in replacement of Leonard Peltier, who was experiencing health issues.[10][11] The ticket obtained no electoral votes in the election, and a total of 85,623 nationally, or about 0.05% of the total, being sixth most voted candidate, after Rocky de la Fuente, and ahead of Kanye West.[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ "Sunil Freeman". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  2. ^ "Sunil Freeman: Meet the Other Indian American 2020 Vice Presidential Candidate". American Kahani. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  3. ^ a b c "The Writers Center". washingtonart.com. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  4. ^ a b Louis, Arul. "A second Indian-origin candidate, Sunil Freeman, running for US vice president". South Asia Monitor. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  5. ^ a b "Not just Kamala Harris: Meet Sunil Freeman, a vice-presidential candidate with roots in India". The Economic Times. 2020-10-20. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  6. ^ "Meet Sunil Freeman The Second Indian-American Running For US Vice President Post". www.india.com. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  7. ^ AWC News/forum. American Women Composers. 1986.
  8. ^ Freeman, Sunil (2020-10-12). "Why Gloria La Riva and I are Running as the Socialist Alternative to Biden-Harris 2020". American Kahani. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  9. ^ Kumar, Arun (2020-10-30). "The other Indian American running for US vice president - The American Bazaar". Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  10. ^ "Leonard Peltier regretfully withdraws as vice-presidential candidate". La Riva 2020. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  11. ^ Wigner, Richard (2020-08-02). "Party for Socialism & Liberation Alters its Vice-Presidential Nominee". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  12. ^ "The Green Papers: 2020 Presidential Candidate Ballot Access by State". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  13. ^ "La Riva for president campaign makes major strides for socialist movement". Liberation News. Retrieved 2024-06-13.