Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Person

Eugene Puryear

Type:

Journalist and Activist
Nationality:

American
Born:

1986

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Eugene Puryear is a radical-left journalist, activist, author, podcast host, and politician who helped found the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) with Gloria La Riva. 1 Puryear unsuccessfully ran for local office in Washington, D.C. in 2014 and for the vice presidency of the United States of America in 2008 and 2016 on the PSL’s ticket. 2 3 4

Puryear opposes American capitalism and supports its complete abolition. Puryear also opposes what he considers to be a growing “far right” and fascist” movement in American politics. 5 6 He has expressed vocal support for Palestinian nationalism and defended the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. 7

Education and Career

Eugene Puryear is a graduate of Howard University. He has held several positions within journalism as an author, editor, and podcast host. 8

In 2013, Eugene Puryear wrote the book, Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America, which was published by his own Party for Socialism and Liberation Publications. 9 The book claims that African-Americans have been removed from the process of production in the American economy and placed in jail instead. 10

Puryear writes regularly and sits on the editorial board of Liberation News, the newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. 1 He has co-edited several PSL books, including Imperialism in the 21st Century: Updating Lenin’s Theory a Century Later. 11 He was the host of the daily political talk show By Any Means Necessary, on the Russian government-owned channel, Radio Sputnik. Puryear is the host of the shows “The Freedom Side LIVE” and the “Punchout” on BreakThrough News. 12 13 14 Additionally, Puryear taught a four-part digital course for the PSL’s Liberation School titled, “Black Struggle is Class Struggle.” The course analyzes Black history in the United States and its central role in the development of U.S. society. 15

Puryear also sits on the board of directors for the People’s Welfare Association (PWA), a social welfare grantmaking organization with connections to foreign governments, including the Chinese Communist Party through one of its main sponsors, the People’s Support Foundation. 16 17 18

Political Candidacies

In 2014, Puryear ran as a D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate for the at-large City Council seats held at the time by Councilmembers Anita Bonds (D) and David Catania (I) 19 After winning the party’s nomination, Puryear placed sixth out of 14 candidates in the general election. 2

In the 2008 and 2016 United States presidential elections, Puryear was the vice presidential nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), despite being ineligible to become vice president as he was not old enough to meet the Constitutional requirement to take office. In 2008, the La Riva/Puryear slate was on the ballot in six states and received 6,818 total votes. 3 4

Palestinian Nationalism

Eugene Puryear’s history of anti-Israel activism began when he became a lead organizer with the radical-left ANSWER coalition while a student at Howard University, during which he helped organize large protests against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. 20 21

On October 8, 2023, the day after the 2023 Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, Puryear helped organize a rally in support of Palestinian nationalism in Times Square. He was recorded giving a speech in which he defended the Re’im music festival massacre. 7 8 22 When questioned about his words five days later, Puryear reaffirmed them and stated that “Palestinians are right to resist.” 23

Other Activism

Race

Eugene Puryear has participated in several activist movements, including as a national organizer during college for the ANSWER Coalition, a coalition of radical-left activists that leads campaigns against American foreign policy and the State of Israel. Puryear’s activism has spanned several movements and has not been limited to his work with ANSWER. 24 25

Puryear and the ANSWER coalition were involved in the campaign to free the “Jena 6,” a group of Black teens charged for assaulting a white student in Louisiana. 26 27 As a freshman at Howard in 2005, Puryear was interviewed by the Washington Post as an “activist-in-training” and cited his engagement with activism against gentrification, racism, the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and other issues. 28

In 2015, Eugene Puryear supported Black Lives Matter in its opposition to Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser (D). Puryear founded a group called the Stop Police Terror Project D.C. in response to Bowser’s plan to increase police presence in the District. Puryear shouted Bowser down at several speaking events in protest of what he considered to be another step toward police brutality against Black Americans. 29 Also in 2015, Puryear helped organize a Washington, D.C. protest opposing the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. 30

Socialism and “Anti-Imperialism”

Puryear views much of his work as related to a broader anti-imperialist movement. 31  32 He has also publicly endorsed radical-left views on specific topics. For example, in July 2024, Puryear said he supported a socialist overthrow of American capitalism to beat “the far right” in the 2024 presidential election. He has been cited as saying that socialist politician U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is not revolutionary enough for his liking.  5

In June 2024, Puryear wrote an article on the 2024 elections in South Africa in which he expressed hope that the South African political party, the African National Congress, would build a coalition with radical-left and communist parties to “[eliminate] poverty. 33

References

  1. Eugene Puryear.” Liberation News. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.liberationnews.org/author/eugene_puryear/
  2. “General Election Results, 2014.” DC Board of Elections and Ethics. November 4, 2014. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20151220165436/https://www.dcboee.org/election_info/election_results/2014/November-4-General-Election
  3. “Party for Socialism and Liberation Announces Presidential Nominee.” Ballot Access News. December 1, 2011. Accessed December 1, 2024. http://www.ballot-access.org/2011/12/01/party-for-socialism-and-liberation-announces-presidential-nominee/
  4. Winger, Richard. “Party for Socialism and Liberation Announces 2016 Presidential Ticket.” Ballot Access News. July 24, 2015. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://ballot-access.org/2015/07/24/party-for-socialism-and-liberation-announces-2016-presidential-ticket/
  5. Ball, Molly. “The Socialist Case Against Bernie.” The Atlantic. May 2016. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/the-socialist-case-against-bernie/476409/
  6. Puryear, Eugene. “Is ‘democracy on the ballot’? Fighting the far right in election season.” Liberation News. July 27, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.liberationnews.org/is-democracy-on-the-ballot-fighting-the-far-right-in-election-season/
  7. MacDougald, Park and Siegel, Jacob. “Israel at War: The fourth day.” Tablet Magazine. October 10, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/israel-at-war
  8. “Eugene Puryear.” Canary Mission. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://canarymission.org/individual/Eugene_Puryear
  9. “Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America.” Amazon.com. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/Shackled-Chained-Incarceration-Capitalist-America-ebook/dp/B00E9LMT82?ref_=ast_author_mpb
  10. “Shackled and chained : mass incarceration in capitalist America.” WorldCat. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://search.worldcat.org/title/864307809
  11. “Imperialism in the 21st Century: Updating Lenin’s Theory a Century Later.” Amazon.com. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/Imperialism-21st-Century-Updating-Lenins/dp/099103032X#detailBullets_feature_div
  12. “By Any Means Necessary.” Spreaker.com. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20170208032722/https://www.spreaker.com/show/by-any-means-necessary
  13. “The Freedom Side.” YouTube. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwZtBKjGSMzUFZhEeuyHV9BhVVD7OZsJw
  14. “What’s Next After #ForceThe Vote? – The Punchout.” YouTube. January 5, 2021. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fcd5Ou7KNg
  15. “Black struggle is class struggle: A 4-part PSL course.” Liberation School. June 18, 2021. Accessed December 1, 2024.  https://www.liberationschool.org/black-struggle-is-class-sthttp://www.ballot-access.org/2011/12/01/party-for-socialism-and-liberation-announces-presidential-nominee/ruggle-psl-course/
  16. “Peoples Welfare Association – 2023 Federeal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/834705654/202432549349301568/full
  17. “People’s Support Foundation Limited.” ProPublica. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/821202926.
  18. Mara Hvistendahl, David A. Fahrenthold, Lynsey Chutel and Ishaan Jhaveri. “A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul.” New York Times. August 10, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2024.
  19. Sommer, Will. “Ward Candidates Meet in First Debate.” Washington City Paper. January 30, 2014. Accessed December 1, 2024. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/01/30/ward-candidates-meet-in-first-debate/
  20. Johnson, Jenna. “Antiwar Group Refuses To Back Down on Signs.” Washington Post. August 16, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/15/AR2007081501245.html
  21. “Thousands descend on White House to protest Gaza war.” AFP. January 10, 2009. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20090422044118/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hHtZbqUhNlFeWc1O22Twb29vZ5_g
  22. “The Anti-Israel Left Needs to Take a Hard Look at Itself.” New York Times. October 10, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/opinion/israel-hamas-protests-left.html
  23.  Weigel, David. “A rift over Israel threatens the left’s fragile gains.” Yahoo News. October 13, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://news.yahoo.com/rift-over-israel-threatens-left-172208809.html
  24. Puryear, Eugene. “An urgent appeal from Eugene Puryear.” ANSWER Coalition. https://www.answercoalition.org/an_urgent_appeal_from_eugene_puryear
  25. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are
  26. Simmons, Christine. “‘Jena 6’ Protestors Demand Action by Justice Department.” Herald Journal. October 3, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d2o1AAAAIBAJ&pg=4989,532695&dq=eugene-puryear+howard&hl=en
  27. Foster, Mary. “5 years later, Jena 6 move on.” NBC News. August 25, 2011. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44275022
  28. Pierre, Robert. “Rekindling Howard U.’s Activist Fire.” Washington Post. February 22, 2005. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42522-2005Feb21.html
  29.  Sommer, Will. “Activist Judged: Eugene Puryear Reinvents Himself As One of the Mayor’s Newest Foes.” Washington Ccity Paper. September 3, 2015. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/340655/activist-judged-eugene-puryear-reinvents-himself-as-one-of-the-mayors-newest-foes/
  30.  Stein, Perry. “D.C. activists plan rally Wednesday night for Freddie Gray.” Washington Post. April 29, 2015. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/29/d-c-activists-plan-rally-wednesday-night-for-freddie-gray/
  31. Rahman, Abdul. “The crisis in Afghanistan is a result of US recklessness.” Peoples Dispatch. September 6, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/09/06/the-crisis-in-afghanistan-is-a-result-of-us-recklessness/
  32. “Eugene Puryear – About the Author.” Amazon.com. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00EBFQUWC/about
  33. Puryear, Eugene. “South Africa at a turning point? How the 2024 elections will shape the future.” Peoples Dispatch. June 7, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/06/07/south-africa-at-a-turning-point-how-the-2024-elections-will-shape-the-future/
  See an error? Let us know!