DeRay Mckesson

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DeRay Mckesson
DeRay Mckesson, 2016 (24478510746).jpg
DeRay Mckesson in 2016
Born (1985-07-09) July 9, 1985 (age 38)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Nationality American
Alma mater Bowdoin College
Occupation Activist
Awards Peter Jennings Award
Honors <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>

DeRay Mckesson (born July 9, 1985) is an American civil rights activist[1] and politician. Mckesson is a member of the Movement for Black Lives and is known for his activism via social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram and has been active in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland.[2] Mckesson has also written for The Huffington Post[3] and The Guardian.[4] Along with Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, Mckesson also launched Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence.[5]

On February 3, 2016, Mckesson announced his candidacy to the 2016 Baltimore mayoral election.[6]

Career

Mckesson was an organizer in Baltimore City as a teenager, notably as the Chairman of Youth As Resources, Baltimore’s youth-led grant-making organization.[7] Mckesson graduated from Bowdoin College in 2007 with a degree in government and legal studies. He was the president of the student government and his class.[8]

Prior to becoming a full-time activist, DeRay was the special assistant in the office of human capital with Baltimore City Public Schools. Mckesson also worked for the Harlem’s Children’s Zone.[9] He has also worked as a human resources official at Minneapolis Public Schools.[10] He first drove from Minneapolis to Ferguson on August 16, 2014.[11] He began spending all his weekends and vacations in St. Louis.[12] On March 4, 2015, Mckesson announced via Twitter that he had quit his job and had moved to St. Louis.[13]

Mckesson and fellow activists Johnetta Elzie, Samuel Sinyangwe, and Brittany Packnett launched "Mapping Police Violence", which collected data on people killed by police during 2014.[14] Mckesson and Elzie were awarded the Howard Zinn Freedom to Write Award in 2015 for their activism.[15]

In late 2015, he was a guest lecturer at Yale Divinity School. In November of the same year, Mckesson spoke at the GLAAD Gala, where he discussed his life as a gay male and asked LGBT people to "come out of the quiet."[16][17]

In 2016, Mckesson announced his candidacy for Mayor of Baltimore just before the filing deadline.[6] He placed 6th in the city's Democratic primary, with 2.5% of the vote. [18]

Controversy

In June 2015, Mckesson was the focus of a Twitter campaign while he was in Charleston, South Carolina to protest the Charleston church shooting.[19] The campaign featured the hashtag "#GoHomeDeray", which was accompanied by statements demanding that Mckesson leave the city.[19][20] Mckesson responded to the hashtag, stating that he was there as a sign of solidarity for the nine deaths and that the hashtag was proof that "Racism is alive and well in places like South Carolina, and in towns across America."[21]

Mckesson has been criticized for his affiliation with Teach for America, notably by Philadelphia's Caucus of Working Educators and DC City Council candidate Drew Franklin.[22][23]

See also

References

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External links

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