Butch Ware facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Butch Ware
Ware in 2024
Born	1974 (age 50–51) United States
Education	University of Minnesota (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD)
Political party	Green

Butch Ware, born in 1974, is a professor and a hip hop artist from the United States. He is also known as Bilal Ware in the American Muslim community. In 2024, he was a candidate for Vice President with the Green Party. He is part of a hip hop group called Slum Prophecy.

Butch Ware has spoken out about important events like the death of George Floyd in 2020 and the Gaza war. He helps organize educational events and community programs. Ware is known as a public speaker, activist, and artist. He works to help communities challenge unfair systems and war. He wants to build peaceful ways of living based on African, Indigenous, and Abrahamic traditions.

As of late 2024, he announced he is running for governor of California in the 2026 election.

Education and Early Career

Butch Ware studied at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his first degree in 1997. He then went to the University of Pennsylvania. There, he earned his PhD in history in 2004. He focused on the history of Africa and Islamic thought.

Teaching and Research

Ware is a historian who studies West Africa. He teaches at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before that, he taught at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. He also started and leads a group called the Initiative for the Study of Race, Religion, and Revolution ("ISRAR").

Music Career

Butch Ware is also a musician. He is one half of the hip hop duo called Slum Prophecy. In 2024, just before he became a candidate for Vice President, Slum Prophecy released an album. The album was titled Aqsa Flood.

Political Views

Butch Ware has shared his thoughts on several important topics. He believes in standing up for what is right and fair.

Views on the Gaza War

Ware has spoken about the Gaza war. He has compared the 2023 attacks by Hamas to historical acts of resistance. He sees Hamas as a group fighting against occupation. In October 2023, he posted online that "Oppressed people don't have a RIGHT to resist occupation, we have a RESPONSIBILITY to resist."

He is an anti-Zionist. This means he does not support the idea of Zionism, which he believes is connected to white supremacy. His views are shaped by the history of Black activism.

Views on LGBTQ+ Rights

Butch Ware strongly supports LGBTQ+ civil rights. He believes that all communities should be fully included, respected, and treated fairly. He has often said he supports the lives and dignity of LGBTQ+ people. Ware recognizes that LGBTQ+ activists have been leaders in the fight for social justice. He is dedicated to protecting their rights in all parts of society.

His campaign follows the values of the Green Party. These values include full bodily autonomy, gender justice, and protections against discrimination.

In an interview in late 2024, Ware was asked about biological males playing in female sports. He said he did not think they should, believing it gives an unfair advantage. Ware later said his comments were taken out of context. He explained that he was discussing a policy about Olympic inclusion. He said his remarks were based on information from the IOC, not a statement against trans inclusion.

Views on Climate Change

Ware is a strong supporter of taking serious action on climate change. He wants a fair shift to using renewable energy. He agrees with Green Party values that the climate crisis is caused by humans. He believes it is made worse by companies wanting more money and by political inaction. He does not think wildfires and extreme weather are just accidents. Instead, he blames them on many years of relying on fossil fuels and not having enough rules.

Ware's campaign for governor wants to stop California from using fossil fuels. He wants to hold companies that pollute responsible. He also wants to invest in clean energy solutions. He has criticized both major political parties for listening to big oil companies. He points out that millions of dollars in lobbying have stopped real climate action. Ware also supports climate justice. He knows that Black, Brown, and working-class communities are often hurt first and worst by environmental damage. He has promised to fight against real estate companies that take advantage of disaster areas. He wants recovery efforts to focus on community strength, lasting infrastructure, and long-term environmental protection.

Through his campaign, Ware wants to end the fossil fuel industry's control over California politics. He aims for a future where environmental policy is based on science, fairness, and public good, not just company profits.

Views on Immigration

Ware is a strong supporter of immigrant rights. His campaign focuses on ending California's cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ware has strongly criticized Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to stop a bill called AB 15. This bill aimed to limit how much the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) works with ICE. He has spoken out against ICE's history of racial profiling and violating civil rights. He argues that ICE's actions harm constitutional protections. They also unfairly affect asylum seekers and immigrants fleeing problems. Ware believes many of these problems are caused by U.S. foreign policy and corporate actions.

He thinks that state cooperation with ICE not only hurts immigrant communities. It also makes people lose trust in law enforcement. This makes neighborhoods more open to unfair systems. As part of his campaign, Ware has promised to create policies that protect immigrant communities from federal overreach. He wants a California government that serves all residents fairly, no matter their immigration status.

Personal Life

Butch Ware is a Muslim convert. He shared in a podcast that he became Muslim at age 15. He learned about Islam through the autobiography of Malcolm X and then by reading the Quran. He follows West African Sufi traditions. He has said that the Sufi tradition he knows connects spirituality with social justice.

Discography

• Aqsa Flood (2024)

Selected Publications

• The Walking Qurʼan: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, and History in West Africa (2014)