MOSCOW (Sputnik) — DeRay Mckesson, a prominent US activist linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, has announced his plans to stand in the 2016 Baltimore mayoral election.
"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," Mckesson wrote in his blog.
Born in Baltimore, Mckesson, 30, is also part of the Campaign Zero data-informed platform, that aims to eliminate police violence in the United States.
The Black Lives Matter movement was established in the wake of the fatal shooting of African-American teenager
More than one-third of Americans have a favorable opinion of the movement, according to CNN/ORC poll.
The Campaign Zero website has listed presidential contenders’ proposals to address the problems of police violence and high imprisonment in the United States.
In the past year, the United States has seen mass protests over police brutality and racism after a series of incidents involving white police officers using excessive force against African Americans received extensive media coverage.
