Rosa Alicia Clemente (born April 18, 1972) is an American community organizer, independent journalist, and hip-hop activist. She was the vice presidential

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

of Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney in the

2008 U.S. Presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...

Early life and education

Clemente was born and raised in

South Bronx, New York The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was orig ...

. She is a graduate of the

University of Albany A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. She is currently a doctoral student in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies of

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

. Clemente's academic work has focused on research of national liberation struggles within the United States, with a specific focus on the

Young Lords Party The Young Lords, also known as the Young Lords Organization (YLO) or Young Lords Party (YLP), was a Chicago-based street gang that became a civil and human rights organization. The group aims to fight for neighborhood empowerment and self-det ...

and the

Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic ...

. While a student at

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a Public university, public research university with campuses in Albany, New York, Albany, Rensselaer, New York, Rensselae ...

, she was President of the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA) and Director of Multicultural Affairs for the Student Association. At Cornell she was a founding member of La Voz Boriken, a social/political organization dedicated to supporting Puerto Rican

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s and the independence of Puerto Rico.

Journalism

Clemente has written for '' Clamor Magazine'', ''The Ave.'' magazine, ''

The Black World Today The Black World Today was a communicative website founded in July 1996 by Don Rojas (former press secretary to Maurice Bishop), with Herb Boyd as managing editor. The website is now defunct.Todd S. BurroughsDrums in the Global Village./ref> The si ...

'', '' The Final Call'' and numerous websites. She has been the subject of articles in the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', '' Urban Latino'' and ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' magazines. She has appeared on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

, C-SPAN, ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'' and Street Soldiers. In 2001, she was a youth representative at the United Nations World Conference against Xenophobia, Racism and Related Intolerance in South Africa and in 2002 was named by '' Red Eye Magazine'' as one of the top 50 Hip Hop Activists to look out for.

Activism

In 1995, she developed Know Thy Self Productions (KTSP), a full-service

speakers bureau A speakers bureau is a collection of speakers who talk about a particular subject, or a company, which operates to facilitate speakers for clients requiring motivational speakers, celebrity appearances, conference facilitators, or keynote speaker ...

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

and media consulting service. She attended the

75th Golden Globe Awards The 75th Golden Globe Awards honored film and American television of 2017, and was broadcast live on January 7, 2018, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. This Golden ...

in 2018 as a guest of

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

Vice presidential campaign

In July 2008, Clemente was named the running mate of former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Three days later, on July 12, she was confirmed as the vice presidential nominee of the

Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy, grassroot ...

at their annual convention. A month later, Clemente and McKinney appeared at a number of events in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which was the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. On August 27, Rosa Clemente spoke at an "Open The Debates" rally organized by the Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez presidential campaign. On Election Day, McKinney/Clemente received 161,797 votes (0.12% of the popular vote).

Personal life

Clemente was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and identifies as an Afro-Latina Puerto Rican.

References

External links

Rosa Clemente's Website

"Where We Live"
Radio Program Co-Hosted by Rosa Clemente on WBAI 99.5 FM 8–9 pm Thursdays in New York City.
Feminist We Love:Rosa Clemente

* ttp://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/3/third_party_vp_candidates_matt_gonzalez Rosa Clemente and Matt Gonzalez respond to Biden-Palin DebateResponse to only televised 2008 U.S. Vice-Presidential Debate, Democracy Now! October 3, 2008. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemente, Rosa 1972 births 21st-century American politicians American anti-war activists American democracy activists American politicians of Puerto Rican descent American women journalists American community activists Cornell University alumni Cynthia McKinney Female candidates for Vice President of the United States Green Party of the United States politicians Green Party of the United States vice presidential nominees Hip hop activists Living people People from the Bronx 2008 United States vice-presidential candidates University at Albany, SUNY alumni Activists from New York (state) Former Roman Catholics Puerto Rican people of African descent