Civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson is running for mayor of Baltimore. He would get my vote if I lived there.
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 transformational change our city needs. Many have accepted that our current political reality is fixed and irreversible — that we must resign ourselves to accept the way that City Hall functions, or the role of money and connections in dictating who runs and wins elections. They have bought into the notion that there is only one road that leads to serve as an elected leader.
A member of the Black Lives Matter movement, Mckesson has done much to draw the public’s eye to America’s lingering problems of race and power, especially when it comes to policing. The Baltimore Sun says his jump into politics, though, is a surprise.
He said he planned to release a platform within a week. He said it would include a call for internal school system audits to be made public.
Mckesson was the 13th and final candidate to jump into the primary race. In deep-blue Baltimore, the Democratic primary has long determined the winner of the general election.
Watch for this narrative in the media: that he’s just a protest candidate. Then, if he does too well for their comfort, watch for this one: that by seeking to win, he’s becoming like all the other politicians, i.e. betraying the role they prefer him to play.