Black Lives Matter Activist DeRay McKesson Arrested During Protest
Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson was arrested Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. while protesting the death of Alton Sterling, according to several reports.
Mckesson was broadcasting the march on Periscope and filmed a portion of his arrest.
The Black Lives Matter activist was arrested while marching in Baton Rouge on Airline Highway. Police had told demonstrators to stay off the road. But McKesson reportedly said to those marching that there is no sidewalk, The New York Times reported.
DeRay posted to Periscope here.
In the broadcast, about five minutes in, police can be heard saying: “City police. You’re under arrest. Don’t fight me. Don’t fight me.”
Mckesson then says: “I’m under arrest, y’all.”The phone is handed off to other protesters who continued videotaping and explaining the incident.
A Louisiana State Police official told a reporter with The Advocate that the protesters were “clearly blocking the roadway.”
“We welcome the protests. We want them to voice their opinions. That’s what we’re here to do, to make sure they’re safe and they’re able to do that,” he said in a video the reporter posted on the reporter’s Twitter account.
“We wouldn’t arrest people who are quietly protesting off the roadway,” he said.
As noted going back to Baltimore, DeRay has a nefarious background and has been in White House sessions with Valerie Jarrett and Barack Obama.
**** After unsuccessfully running for Mayor of Baltimore, DeRay has another job…..teaching your kids.
Civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson to join new city schools cabinet
BaltimoreSun: Mckesson was named interim chief human capital officer on Tuesday by incoming schools CEO Sonja Santelises. It was the second and most high-profile cabinet appointment made by the new chief, who begins her tenure Friday.
Santelises said Mckesson, who spent about two and a half years overseeing key reforms as a strategist and special assistant in the human capital office, would lead the office at least through the fall.
“He has the depth of knowledge of the system, and he has proved that he can lift the work in a short amount of time,” Santelises said in an interview. “And he has proven his dedication to the children of Baltimore.”
Mckesson called Santelises a “gifted leader” and said he was proud to join her team.
“At its core, this role is about finding great people, matching them to the right role, and helping them to develop and experience careers in the service of our kids,” Mckesson said. “I am excited to return to city schools … and to continue doing the work to ensure that every child in Baltimore City receives a world-class education.”
The 30-year-old Baltimore native and Black Lives Matter activist is fresh from an unexpected run for mayor of Baltimore. He finished sixth in the Democratic primary.
Mckesson catapulted onto the national media stage nearly two years ago when he took a leave of absence from his job as senior director of human capital in the Minneapolis Public Schools system to protest the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Mckesson founded and leads We the Protesters, a group that advocates policy changes against police violence.
