DeRay Mckesson is a prominent Black Lives Matter activist. He’s also the interim human capital officer for Baltimore City schools. “Some” “critics” have a problem with that.
On Saturday, Mckesson was arrested at a protest in Baton Rouge over the police killing of Alton Sterling, an arrest he maintains was “unlawful.” On Tuesday, he was back in Baltimore for a school board meeting.
According to WJZ, “[s]ome are saying his activism doesn’t mix well with his role as a school official.” Who exactly? The coverage doesn’t say.
Fox Baltimore names only City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young as among “critics who have said that [Mckesson’s] work on the front lines of such protests may be inappropriate for a City Schools official.” But even Young said he ultimately respects the school board’s hiring decision, and has “no comment” on Mckesson’s arrest.
The district itself released a statement Monday voicing its support for Mckesson’s right to protest “[in] his private capacity as an individual involved in community activism.”
But to any critics — whether real or hypothetical — Mckesson has offered a response: “My commitment to kids is unwavering, and my commitment to social justice is unwavering, and those commitments are not in conflict.”
This blurb is silly in its effort to dismiss any criticism as coming from fake people or “critics” (gotta love the scare quotes). McKesson is making $165K / year. Allow me to repeat that – ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR. For perspective, the Mayor makes $171K. As a full time – not part-time – public employee being paid with tax dollars, he has an obligation to, you know, show up at work regularly and not have a have a side career as an activist or anything else that limits his ability to be there full time. And this “criticism” is not even raising other relevant issues here – for example, is the role of human capital officer – whatever that’s supposed to be – really the right place for a high profile activist? And how many folks were interviewed for this “job” and was 30 year old McKesson really the most qualified? As a “critic,” I can’t help but see this as merely a generous publicly funded stipend to someone who’s figuring out his next political move. Or maybe it’s a political pay-off to keep him quiet during the Freddie Gray mess. Only in Baltimore folks.
Maybe if he commits more crimes, he will be the Baltimore city police chief.