BALTIMORE — For as long as DeRay Mckessoncan remember, he's been dedicated to education. Early in his professional career, the Baltimore native showcased that through his work in the school system, teaching and creating after-school programs.
In 2014, when he found himself at a massive protest for the shooting death of 18-year-old Mike Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, he also found a different calling. From the blue vest he was wearing, to the feeling of being arrested, it's an experience he'll never forget.
"I’ll never forget I got tear gassed the second night I was in St. Louis and it changed my life," McKesson said. "I was like ‘This is crazy..we didn’t do anything wrong’."
From that point on, education started taking on a whole new meaning for him. Protests happening in Ferguson, Baltimore and several more cities across the country were being ignited by the police officers shooting unarmed black people and only deepened his desire to do something about it.
That became the foundation for his research-based platform and activist group 'Campaign Zero.'
"There are a host of issues that we’re working on that’ll change people’s lives if we fix them," McKesson said.
The landmark goals of the organization are:
- Public Safety Beyond Policing
- Downsize how much communities rely and depend on the power of police
- End Mass Incarceration
- Create Fundamental Fairness, Accountability and Transparency
- Direct Support and Advocacy.
Mass incarceration may be third on the list, but right under being a part of changing the way police interact with communities, it's a top priority.
"We passed more laws as an activist group than any activist group in American history around policing and mass incarceration," McKesson said. "We’re really proud of that [but] we have a lot more to go."
When he thinks of where he is in this race to creating more equity within the country's justice system, he wants to invite as many to the table, for the conversation, as possible. The idea is just to talk about what makes the most sense and create a space for compassion and understanding.
"I’m trying to change people’s hearts and minds about consequences and how they think about being safe," McKesson said. "There’s no idea that ever changed this country, that didn’t start in a kitchen, a living room, a dining room table a basement. It’s those conversations that actually move the needle."
There's a chance, that if it wasn't for the death of Mike Brown, DeRay might not have ever been motivated to start Campaign Zero, but part of him always knew being an organizer was instilled at him as a kid, growing up near Baltimore City's Rosemont Elementary/ Middle School and following the example of two of his favorite women.
"I think about the first organizer I ever met was my grandmother and Miss Gertrude," he said. '[They] kept the neighborhood safe. They kept it together [and] watched out for all the kids."
Some of these long-term goals appear to be more of a marathon than a sprint, but he's optimistic about their chances of seeing them come to pass.
"I think we can actually end police violence in this lifetime, I believe that," McKesson said. "I also believe we can end mass incarceration in this lifetime."
However, as Campaign Zero marks 10 years of its work, he also knows there is more strength in numbers.
"Part of our work is to create space so we can invite more and more people in," he said. "Because we can’t run alone, we need people in the statehouse, city council, we need people in the neighborhoods.
This way, when the time is right they can pass the baton to the next wave of change-makers.
"We want people to work with us [and] we want to work with people, but we also know that you should be able to take the best of what we’ve done and do something even better with it."
Hear DeRay McKesson speak on his journey to starting Campaign Zero
