When I heard that Deray Mckesson decided to run for Baltimore mayor, I was very skeptical. I didn’t believe that he had enough grit to lead Baltimore. In the last couple of months, my city has been in a constant state of turmoil since the unrest. Baltimore residents have slowly been losing hope; lead by an out of touch mayor and corrupt police department, the citizens grew very tired. The death of Freddy Gray is what broke the silence and alerted the nation of what was really happening in Baltimore. Now, how the unrest was handled was careless by the mayor. She was very critical of the protestors at times calling them ‘thugs’ and even saying the police gave vandals room to ‘destroy’. The city collectively decided that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake needed to be removed. We are slowly on the road to recovery, but it is still a constant battle. Police and citizen interaction isn’t getting any better and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings still doesn’t quite get it. That’s why I believe Deray Mckesson is the hope we have been craving for so long.
Deray is a native of Baltimore–– he lived here, attending elementary school here. He wasn’t privileged, at most he was lower middle class. His life growing up wasn’t luxurious as he dealt with the pain of drug addicted parents. In order to understand the people, you have to be one of those people. Although Deray has gained worldwide notoriety and success, he has always kept his ears to the streets and kept an eye on issues facing the lower to middle class. Many times, the government officials we have are out of touch– they forget about the ‘little’ people. Deray has put his life on the line numerous times to protest for the black lives matter movement– easily he can be killed at any time, but he does it for the people. He is a man of the people. I believe he has the most sincere and honest intent.
Before Deray became one of the shining stars of Black Lives Matter, he was fighting for education equality in Minnesota. Education equality is the belief that everyone should have the same opportunities in life regardless of social background, gender, religion, or age. According to a Baltimore Sun article, the average city student scored an 1126 out of 2400 during 2013-2014. High school senior’s SAT scores were more than 100 points BELOW state and national averages for each of the three testing components. Drop out rates are still an issue, although improving– 12 percent of class of 2013 dropped out while in 2010, 24 percent of the class dropped out. Deray would be the perfect mayor to address and reform these educational gaps. As a black man who got out of Baltimore and continued and eventually graduated from Bowdoin College earning a degree in government and legal issues, Deray has a lot of inspirational and motivating words to share to young black men about not being another statistic. He understands the importance of an equal educational and what it can do for African-Americans. Additionally, in 2015, he was a lecturer at Yale University (enough said).
Police reform. Deray has a lot of experience in police reforming since beginning to protest during Ferguson. In fact, he and Johnnetta Elzie created WeTheProtestors.org, where they map police violence. The Baltimore Police Department has a long history of police brutality. The death of Freddy Gray put them under the microscope and exposed many of the police brutality cases they had tried to cover up. The most common phrase I hear from many Baltimore citizens is “f*ck the police.” It’s no secret that police-citizen interaction in Baltimore isn’t the best (actually it’s really terrible). Many people do not trust the police and the police do not respect the people. It creates a hostile environment. Police need to be less aggressive and more inviting. As Mayor, Deray can address how we can reform the Baltimore Police Department and integrate them into the communities to build trust amongst residents.
Most importantly, I am sure Deray has been called the N-word and every racist word in the urban dictionary. He has to read nasty and mean comments constantly belittling him every day. He has taken many of the attacks in stride, especially when a group of racist made #gohomederay a trending topic when Deray visited South Carolina simply to protest the Charleston church shooting. Never has Deray folded under pressure, never has he lost his composure. Personally, I want a mayor that will assure me everything is alright, even if the city is under attack. Now that I am 18, I can vote and my first vote will be cast for Deray.
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