Zellie Thomas

Zellie Thomas is a Black Lives Matter activist, a member of the DSA AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus and the North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America. He also goes by the name "Zellie Imani".

Zellie Thomas an elementary school teacher. He is a failed candidate for Paterson City Council, New Jersey.

Bio

Zellie Thomas a lifelong Paterson resident, third grade math teacher at School Number 16, entrepreneur, and one of the leaders of the local Black Lives Matter movement, Zellie Thomas, is the latest candidate to announce his candidacy for one of the three At-Large seats on the Paterson City Council up for grabs in th May 2018 election. Thomas, according to the City Clerk’s Office, is the 15th candidate for Council to pick up petitions for the May 8 election.

Anti Trump rally

Make the Road New Jersey and the Working Families Party hosted a rally and march on November 9 2024, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty on Jersey City’s Grundy Pier. The rally was held to help build the fightback against the incoming Trump administration, following the elections which have also resulted in a GOP-controlled Senate and House, along with a Supreme Court already dominated by the extreme right.

Over a hundred came from various unions and community organizations, including SEIU, CWA District 1, LIUNA Local 189, New JerseyJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Black Lives Matter of Paterson, the New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Citizen Action, Newark Communities for Accountable Policing, the Hudson–Bergen club of the CPUSA, and many others.

Also among them were several elected officials representing nearby areas, including Jersey City councilmembers James Solomon and Yousef Saleh, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Rep. Robert Menendez, and Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

The tension and apprehension of the moment gave way to energy and renewed fervor. Rejecting the racist and fascist MAGA movement, crowds of people from every race opposed Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-LGTBQ, and reactionary rhetoric.

New Jersey Working Families Party director Antoinette Miles began by acknowledging that, regardless of who was going to win the election, the work of the organization and its allies never intended to end at the ballot box.

“Election Day was always about the conditions in which we organized, and that is what I’m speaking of today. … Even though we are entering darker times and a political crisis, we’re not waiting until 2025 to draw a line in the sand against Donald Trump, and while he may be in power, it does not mean that we are powerless!”

Chris Capers, LIUNA member, and Jersey City resident, went into detail about his union’s progress supporting immigrants who have been under attack by the Trump administration and have been exploited by their employers.

Cesar Romero of Make the Road New Jersey came to the podium in defense of immigrants like himself, and the families of immigrants.

Romero went on to list many of the actions he hoped to convince New Jersey’s state representatives to support, including codifying the Office of New Americans to create community centers dedicated to funding outreach within immigrant communities; passing the Immigrant Trust Act, which would codify and expand key protections that the Attorney General can use to defend immigrants; allowing unemployment insurance to be accessible to non-citizens; and establishing a right to counsel program so that immigrants facing detention have access to an attorney and legal representation.

Newark mayor and candidate for governor of New Jersey, Ras Baraka made his way to the stage with two of his children and led the crowd in the chant, “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” With Ellis Island less than a mile away, he reminded the rally-goers:

“Millions of immigrants around this country helped create what we know as America today; helped develop the labor movement we know today; fought for an eight-hour day; fought for child labor laws; united with former slaves and working-class women to make sure the right to vote visited everybody’s homes.”

“That fight is also tied to the fight of everything else,” he said, highlighting the fight for housing reform, increasing wages, access to child care, criminal justice reform, women’s ability to make their own health care decisions, and ending the high rates of maternal mortality among African American women.

“The minute we divide these fights up … we lose.”

Baraka’s message of unity in struggle was well received by the crowd, who cheered and shouted as he declared, “The people united will never be defeated!”

Zellie Thomas of Black Lives Matter Paterson built on this theme.

“We are here for every living creature on this planet. And that’s important for us to say because take a breath right now.” The brisk air was charred with the smell of burning wood. “The other side that won, wants to say that climate change isn’t real! But you see all these forest fires? … You smell that smoke?” A recent drought affecting New Jersey further exacerbated by windy conditions has caused wildfires all over the state.

Before inviting NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice director Amy Torres to the stage, Miles stressed the importance of building political independence.

As the rally came to a close, attendees began to assemble behind their banners, preparing to march along the riverfront. “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” and other chants of unity filled the air, showing determination to defeat Trump’s far-right movement.

Profiled at the NEA

The National Education Association profiled Zellie Thomas in February, 2022. Excerpt:

"I teach in a predominantly Black and brown school district, and I teach with a racial and social justice lens. It’s at the forefront of my practice because, for example, when we talk about ‘Justice for George Floyd,’ I think about how George Floyd isn't coming back. I also think about how I can prevent one of my students from being the next George Floyd. The Black Lives Matter movement cannot be reduced to only talking about police brutality. As educators, we shouldn’t be scared to recognize that Black Lives Matter in the school buildings too.

Socialism in Religion

Zellie Thomas was described at the Democratic Socialists of America's Building the Religious Left Conference on April 24, 25 2021 as "a Muslim who organizes with BLM Paterson".

Award from New Jersey Education Association

Zellie Thomas "won the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights award" from the New Jersey Education Association.

Statement on Anti Blackness in the DSA

Statement on Anti Blackness in the DSA was released in February 2021:

We as the AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus stand in solidarity with the Black woman in DSA North Texas who was wrongfully suspended by DSA North Texas Co-chairs. This action by the DSA North Texas Co-chairs is racist and in particular anti-Black. This is not an isolated incident of racism but represents a pattern of anti-black and white supremacist actions within DSA which must be acknowledged, held accountable and systematically rooted out. There is a pattern of anti-black behavior that stems from the founding of DSA North Texas that has led to each generation of Co-chairs either perpetuating or being complicit in anti-black racism.

Signatories included Zellie Thomas North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America.

DSA national endorsements, 2018/DSA member

Democratic Socialists of America April 26 at 9:51am .

DSA is proud to announce national endorsements for nine candidates who are running for local, state, and federal office!

• Kaniela Ing, U.S. Congress for Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District
• Gayle McLaughlin, California Lieutenant Governor
• Summer Lee, Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 34
• Sara Innamorato, Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 21
• Kareem Kandil, Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 30
• Zellie Thomas, Paterson City Council New Jersey
• Brandy Brooks, Montgomery County Council Maryland
• Danielle Meitiv, Montgomery County Council Maryland
• Chris Wilhelm, Montgomery County Council Maryland

Austin Binns, April 26 2018.

Congratulations to the following comrades that have received the first round of endorsements from national DSA!! All of the candidates that have received national endorsements are DSA members and share our organization's values and ideas.

DSA AfroSocialist Caucus

In March 2019 Zellie Thomas was a member of the DSA AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus.