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" I've worked in two public school districts, Minneapolis and Baltimore, one as a senior leader. And while we might not always have agreed with the union, and we might have had deep differences, they came to the table. "

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" People often confuse visibility with a lot of other things. Sometimes I become a proxy for things that just aren't true about me. People will say, 'DeRay got millions of dollars in grants.' That's just not true... I'm broke. "

DeRay Mckesson

Say

Will

People

" We question these issues of race and struggle and white privilege because we know that those issues are real and because those issues have real implications in black communities. And white supremacy is not only dangerous, but it is deadly. "

" People are more afraid of black unity than black rage. "

DeRay Mckesson

People

Black

" I have a big following on Twitter, and Twitter has been invaluable for mobilizing and quickly sharing information. But I'm not really sure that people are learning deep content on Twitter. "

" When I think about protest, I worry so much that people think about it only as standing in the streets. And I say that as someone who has been standing in the streets of cities across the country - but at the root of it is this idea of telling the truth in public. "

" I actually get very little phone calls. I get way more tweets and texts. My phone rarely rings. "

" I take statements that portray untrue statements about me seriously. "

DeRay Mckesson

Seriously

Portray

" Baltimore is a beautiful city. I started doing a lot of community organizing back in 1999 and met so many great people in neighborhoods all across the city. And that was an invaluable experience. "

" Find an issue that's important to you, and be as curious and close to it as possible. "

" Systemic change rarely comes overnight. "

" 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. "

" People are not as imaginative as they think they are. "

" If you close your eyes and think about where you feel the most safe, you're probably not going to tell me it's in a room full of police. You feel safe where you're around people that love you, when you have food and shelter, when you're being pushed to be your best self and learn. "

" Skills acquisition is really at the heart of what it means to learn. "

" I love Baltimore. This city has made me the man that I am. "

" It's important to acknowledge the danger when we provide an academic venue for racism. It's interesting to hear people push the, quote, 'free speech' narrative in this way. They deny the speech of the people who disagree. "

" There will always be a rule. There will be people who break the rules. There will be consequences. We fundamentally think these things will be true for a time. The question becomes, What are the consequences? Who enforces the consequences? What are the worst consequences? "

" I am mindful that the goal of protest is not more protest, but the goal of protest is change. "

DeRay Mckesson

Change

Goal

" The first time I was ever impressed with Patagonia as a brand was when they released the 'Don't Buy This Jacket' campaign. That campaign highlighted their understanding of their role in a larger environmental justice space. "

" I wasn't a very good writer before college. I don't think I was a very good reader. "

" I am not naive enough to believe that voting is the only way to bring about transformational change, just as I know that protest alone is not the sole solution to the challenges we face. "

" I grew up in a world of Officer Friendly. It was just the image I had. "

" Black people have always been more than our pain. The joy is so much a part of how we have survived and thrived. "

DeRay Mckesson

Always

Black

" If City Hall started projecting swastikas, no one would say 'You know what? Free speech.' People would say that is wrong. "

" A cacophony of whispers is also noise. There are many ways to be heard, and there are many ways to be visible. There are many ways to be seen. "

" I think about freedom and the urgency around our imagination. If you can't imagine it, you can't fight for it. "

" I was a teacher. I also worked at Harlem Children's Zone. I moved back to Baltimore and opened up an after-school, out-of-school program on the west side and then worked in two public school districts, in Baltimore and Minneapolis. "

DeRay Mckesson

Teacher

Two

" I think that I, because of student government and because of working in Baltimore, knew how to be creative with very little resources. "

" I'm not ashamed to be gay. "

DeRay Mckesson

Gay

Ashamed

" Laws on hate speech and hate crimes do important work in a world that has been rooted in racism and bigotry since the inception of this country, which was not founded on ideals of justice. "