DeRay Mckesson

DeRay Mckesson

DeRay Mckesson in 2016
Born (1985-07-09) July 9, 1985
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Nationality American
Alma mater Bowdoin College
Occupation Activist
Awards Peter Jennings Award
Honors

Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leader’s List

Foreign Policy Magazine 100 Global Thinkers List

The Root 100

Out 100

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 Huffington Post and The Guardian.[3] Along with Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, Mckesson also launched Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence.[4]

On February 3, 2016, Mckesson announced his candidacy to the 2016 Baltimore mayoral election.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] He has also worked as the head of the human resources at Minneapolis Public Schools.[9] He first drove from Minneapolis to Ferguson on August 16, 2014.[10] He began spending all his weekends and vacations in St. Louis.[11] On March 4, 2015, Mckesson announced via Twitter that he had quit his job and had moved to St. Louis.[12]

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.[13] Mckesson and Elzie were awarded the Howard Zinn Freedom to Write Award in 2015 for their activism.[14]

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."[15][16]

In 2016, Mckesson announced his candidacy for Mayor of Baltimore just before the filing deadline.[5] He placed 6th in the city's Democratic primary, with 2.5% of the vote. [17]

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.[18] The campaign featured the hashtag "#GoHomeDeray", which was accompanied by statements demanding that Mckesson leave the city.[18][19] 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."[20]

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.[21][22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "South Carolina reflects on Walter Scott killing: ‘The flag of white supremacy still flies on our statehouse'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ Kang, Jay Caspian (May 4, 2015). "'Our Demand Is Simple: Stop Killing Us'". New York Times Magazine. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ferguson and beyond: how a new civil rights movement began – and won't end". The Guardian. 2015-08-09. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  4. ↑ Rao, Sameer. "DeRay Mckesson, Johnetta Elzie and Co. Launch Campaign Zero To End Police Brutality". Colorlines. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  5. 1 2 Broadwater, Luke (February 3, 2016). "DeRay Mckesson files to run in Baltimore mayoral race". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Program grants teens a charitable role". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  7. ↑ Guerette, Bobby (May 4, 2007). "'This place exists for you': DeRay Mckesson looks back on four years at Bowdoin". Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "B-More Committed: 'Finding the Gift' in Your Work". Young Education Professionals. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  9. ↑ Graham, David A. (May 2015). "Beyond Hashtag Activism". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ Casey, Garrett (September 26, 2014). "DeRay McKesson '07 participates in 'principled protesting' in Ferguson". Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ Matos, Alejandra (November 21, 2014). "Minneapolis schools HR director is real-time reporting witness in Ferguson". StarTribune. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ Holleman, Joe. "Protester DeRay Mckesson has moved to STL". STL Today. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ Marusic, Kristina (April 4, 2015). "This Map Of Police Violence Aims To Create A Path To Justice". MTV. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ Pearce, Matt; Lee, Kurtis (March 5, 2015). "The new civil rights leaders: Emerging voices in the 21st century". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  15. ↑ "#BlackLivesMatter Protester Deray McKesson to Teach at Yale". Mediaite.com. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  16. ↑ "DeRay Mckesson Wants You to Come Out of the Quiet". The Advocate. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  17. ↑ Sun, Baltimore. "DeRay Mckesson finishes 6th in Democratic primary for Baltimore mayor". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  18. 1 2 Walters, Joanna. "DeRay Mckesson at centre of #GoHomeDeray Twitter storm". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  19. ↑ Callahan, Yesha (June 22, 2015). "Social Media Hatemongers Create #GoHomeDeRay Directed Toward Activist DeRay McKesson During Visit to Charleston, SC". The Root. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  20. ↑ KAUFMAN, SCOTT ERIC (June 22, 2015). "#BlackLivesMatter activist DeRay Mckesson on #GoHomeDeRay hashtag: It’s proof "racism is alive and well" in America". Salon. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  21. ↑ Caucus of Working Educators. "An Open Letter to DeRay Mckesson". Jacobin Magazine. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  22. ↑ Franklin, Drew. "The Movement Lives in Ferguson: Teach For America, Black Leadership, and Disaster Capitalism". Black Agenda Report. Retrieved October 26, 2015.

External links


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