17 Facts About Melina Abdullah

Melina Reimann Abdullah was born on 1972 and is an American academic and civic leader.

Melina Abdullah is the former chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and is a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter Grassroots, for which she serves as co-director.

Melina Abdullah Rachel Reimann was born in the East Oakland section of Oakland, California.

Melina Abdullah's mother is Linda Fowler Blackston; later remarried Oji "Baba" Blackston.

Melina Abdullah changed her surname from Reimann to Abdullah due to her marriage to filmmaker Phaylen Abdullah and kept the name after their divorce.

Melina Abdullah is a tenured professor and served as chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles.

Melina Abdullah was interviewed in 13th, a 2016 documentary about mass incarceration in the United States.

Melina Abdullah has served on the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission since 2014.

Melina Abdullah is a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation chapter in Los Angeles, California, and regularly writes articles for the LA Progressive.

Melina Abdullah is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Melina Abdullah serves on several boards, including Black Community, Clergy and Labor Alliance, Los Angeles Community Action Network, and Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education.

Melina Abdullah has been featured on season two of Rabbi Heather Miller's podcast "Keeping It Sacred".

Melina Abdullah has accused the city of Los Angeles of bringing charges for the sole purpose of quashing her activism, which often includes antagonistic encounters at Police Commission meetings.

Melina Abdullah was arrested on suspicion of battery against a police officer, following an incident in which she allegedly grabbed the officer's arm during the arrest of protester Sheila Hines-Brim at an LAPD police commission hearing.

Melina Abdullah was charged with misdemeanor battery, as well as seven other counts: these charges included interfering with a public business establishment and the lawful business of the Police Commission during separate incidents in 2017.

In February 2024, Melina Abdullah was criticized for a tweet that stated her belief that the result of Super Bowl LVIII was a "right-wing, white-supremacist conspiracy".

In October 2021, Melina Abdullah received Chatham House Centenary Diversity Champion Award.