Black Lives Matter activist Mckesson with Mpls. ties runs for Baltimore mayor

Civil rights activist and former Minneapolis Public Schools administrator DeRay Mckesson has joined the field seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Baltimore.

Mckesson is a well-known activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, particularly in protesting the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Brown was fatally shot by a white officer and Gray broke his neck while in police custody and later died.

Mckesson became involved in the Black Lives Matter movement after the killing of Brown in Ferguson.

He told the New York Times last year that he was still working as human resources director of Minneapolis Public Schools at the time, but found himself driving from Minneapolis to St. Louis every weekend for the protests.

During the Ferguson protests, he worked with other activists to put out popular newsletters that compiled articles, photos and social media posts about the protests for thousands of subscribers.

Due to his activity on Twitter and frequent media appearances, Mckesson became one of the most high-profile activists associated with the Black Lives Matter movement nationally.

Mckesson told the Star Tribune in 2014 that he saw himself as an advocate for children, but that Ferguson helped him realize that it's about more than just providing a good education: "No matter how great a school is, you can't learn if you can't live," Mckesson said.

In March, Mckesson announced that he'd resigned from the school district "to devote my time and energy to movement work." Media in St. Louis announced a week later that he'd moved to the city. The Baltimore Sun reports that Mckesson has been living in North Baltimore in recent months.

Mckesson filed to run Wednesday, the deadline for candidates in Maryland's April 26 primary, joining a dozen contenders. Former Mayor Sheila Dixon is also a candidate in primary.

Democratic Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake opted not to run after unrest over Gray's death, saying she wanted to focus on seeing the city through the trials of six officers charged in the case.

The 30-year-old Baltimore native told The Baltimore Sun that he expects to release a platform within a week. Mckesson acknowledged that entering the race late would mean he'd have some catching up to do.

"We can't rely on traditional pathways to politics and the traditional politicians who walk those paths if we want transformational change," he told the Sun.

Mckesson has nearly 300,000 Twitter followers.