Deray McKesson has always done more than let his Twitter fingers do all the talking. On Wednesday (Feb. 3), the Black Lives Matter activist announced that he is entering the race for mayor of Baltimore.
Reports the New York Times:
His entry is a step into the mainstream for a national movement that has been criticized for a lack of organized structure and tactics. His candidacy is sure to jolt the political and protest communities at a time when activists have eschewed traditional politics and sought to work outside the system.
Mr. Mckesson, a Baltimore native who will run as a Democrat, faces an uphill climb.
He is diving, relatively late, into a crowded race of about a dozen candidates. Among them are prominent black leaders including Nick J. Mosby, a city councilman and the husband of the prosecutor who is trying six police officers in the death of a young black Baltimore man last year, and Sheila Dixon, the former mayor who remains popular even though she left office after a conviction on fraud charges. David L. Warnock, a prominent businessman, also is vying for the nomination.
McKesson, 30, announced his run via a post on Medium.
Part of his statement reads:
I am running to be the 50th Mayor of Baltimore in order to usher our city into an era where the government is accountable to its people and is aggressively innovative in how it identifies and solves its problems. We can build a Baltimore where more and more people want to live and work, and where everyone can thrive.
Best of luck to DeRay McKesson, between salty activists with a grudge to the struggle that is the political system, this may be his most difficult battle yet.
RELATED: #1 @Deray – Deray McKesson #BlackTwitter100
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Photo: screen cap
