Earlier this month, , Black Lives Matter Activist, DeRay Mckesson joined the race to be Mayor of Baltimore. McKesson is most notable as a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, a movement spawned by the murder of Trayvon Martin and a call to action to address the racial tension, police brutality, violence and disparities that plague the African-American community.
Mckesson’s background as a former public school administrator in both Minnesota and Baltimore, as well as his affiliation to Campaign Zero, demonstrates his dedication to community service and protecting the rights of the people. It would make sense that he would want to serve and fight for the people on a larger scale. His trajectory mirrors that of Black Panther member Bobby Seale, also an activist turned political candidate.
Only moments before the deadline, Mckesson entered Baltimore’s race for Mayor. In company with political heavy weights former Mayor Sheila Dixon, state Senator Catherine E. Pugh along with ten others. Mckesson doesn’t seem to be interested in maintaining the traditional political climate, he seeks change. “I am not the silver bullet for the challenges of our city – no one individual is. But together, with the right ideas, the right passion, the right people, we can take this city in a new direction. It is true that I am a non-traditional candidate- I am not a former Mayor, City Councilman, state legislator, philanthropist or the son of a well connected family. I am an activist, organizer, former teacher and district administrator that intimately understands how interwoven our challenges and solutions are,” Mckesson states. He is aware that the road ahead is not for the faint of heart but also acknowledges that the current role of government needs to be revamped in a city crying out for change. “I have come to realize that the traditional pathway to politics, and the traditional politicians who follow these well-worn paths, will not lead us to the transformed change our city needs,” Mckesson wrote.
Heavily and consistently present on multiple social media platforms and being a millennial himself, Mckesson may be the breath of fresh air needed in a city suffocating from the choke-hold of poverty and distrust of the established political system. Watch his first Baltimore Mayoral campaign ad below.
I'm running to be the next Mayor of Baltimore. Visit the site to learn more or to donate.https://t.co/F8vImD8PbG
— deray mckesson (@deray) February 21, 2016
