Just minutes before the 9:00 p.m. deadline on Wednesday, Deray Mckesson officially entered the Baltimore mayoral race.

Mckesson, a Baltimore native, wrote a blog making his intentions clear about the nature of the principles he will stand on in his campaign for mayor.

“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.

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 our solutions are.

I am a son of Baltimore.”

There are now four republicans, 13 democrats, three green party, and one libertarian as hopefuls running for the position. The primary election for this race will take place on April 26, where Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will not run for reelection.

The Black Lives Matter activist filed as a Democratic candidate. Since leaving his job in Minneapolis Public Schools and becoming a full-time activist, DeRay became a cornerstone in the BLM movement, especially for his groundwork done in the Ferguson, Missouri unrest. His Twitter following is inching at 300,000 where he is known for his outspoken views on civil rights, constantly using social media as his platform. DeRay has appeared on a number of media outlets and talk shows discussing issues like social injustice, police brutality, and racism. The 30-year-old announced last month the Use of Force Project, an organization to inform the public on how police promote violence.

This is a crucial time in American history in relation to the issues of racial inequality and social injustice. A leader like DeRay, who has been on the front lines of battle after battle, searching for real solutions could be just the thing the people of Baltimore need to move forward in a positive direction.

Photo: Tumblr

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