When people hear the word “politics”, they tend to switch off immediately.
And I understand why.
The typical political campaign consists of massive campaign buses, adverts, banners, and people wearing party colours. This is what most of are used to seeing and experiencing.
That “brand” of politics is common. It’s all over the US election campaign, as we speak.
We expect politicians to speak in a certain way, to act in a particular manner, and have a certain aura about them.
Enter Deray Mckesson.
Deray has risen to significant social media prominence in the US and the world over.
He has become the face of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign in the US. The campaign – if you recall – was established after the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the man who shot him.
At the time of the Ferguson riots, Deray was very instrumental in organising and leading that group of activists.
But it is what has happened since then that is of interest.
Deray appears to have reinvented himself and moved into the arena of politics – and this time he is not organising any protests or movements, but an election campaign to be mayor of Baltimore.
The campaign is anything but typical.
Instead of being in a suit with a sleek campaign advert, Deray has stuck to his activist roots.
The campaign video on his website portrays him as a “local guy”, just another dude from Baltimore that you can relate to. He just wants to hear your story.
Just to be clear, I am not endorsing his campaign, or going against it. I don’t know enough about his background or what he has done in the past.
I am, however, asking whether people are ready to trust an activist in the highest office of a City like Baltimore in the US.
Does Deray know enough about policy, managing a city’s budget, safety, education, and healthcare matters, along with any other issues that come with being in office?
Can one transition from being a successful activist and now Twitter sensation, to carrying the burden of governing?
Does politics actually require one to have been “groomed” a certain way in order to run a city?
If you look up Deray and read up a bit about his values and what he believes to be truth, you will understand that it won’t be business as usual if he were to be elected into office. Is he perhaps an example of how the new generation want to do things going forward?
Deray recently did an interview on Stephen Colbert’s show. Take a look at it and catch a glimpse of his mindset. After you watch it, have a look at his website, where his election campaign, which is basically crowdfunded, is outlined.
Maybe the world is ready for a new kind of politics?