DeRay Mckesson


The death of Michael Brown changed DeRay Mckesson’s life (5:10). It changed all of our lives. But it was the unjust murder of the 18-year-old Brown that propelled Mckesson into protest. With the release of his new book, On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope, the activist and author discusses early memories of the BLM movement (12:15), supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election (21:00), the role of social media in contemporary politics (26:07), how he’s navigates work and self-care (30:00), what he learned from running for Mayor of Baltimore (38:09), the criticism he’s faced from fellow activists (43:15), and the hope he maintains for a better future (49:00).

DeRay’s personal website can be found here.

His podcast, “Pod Save the People”, is on iTunes.

DeRay’s book, On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope, is available on Amazon.

A profile of DeRay by The New York Times Magazine from April of 2016.

You can follow DeRay on Instagram and Twitter.

The show is produced by Dylan Peck. Illustration by Krishna Shenoi.