By Jake Ulick
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Prominent Black Lives Matter activist and Democratic mayoral candidate DeRay Mckesson was not invited to a Saturday afternoon debate that was sponsored by the Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) because he did not register at least 5 percent in a poll that was taken in January – well before Mckesson entered the race for mayor.
Adam Jackson, the chief executive officer of LBS, said there was no intention of excluding Mckesson or anyone else in particular. He said that in his opinion, these forums and debates are only a small component in the process of getting elected.
“The issue with us is being able to have a substantive conversation about politics without the background noise,” Jackson said. “Dozens of these forums will happen and this definitely won’t be the last.”
He said that candidates should focus more on grassroots campaigning and securing votes rather than just making appearances at forums.
The candidates who were invited included former Mayor Sheila Dixon, state Sen. Catherine Pugh, councilmen Nick Mosby and Carl Stokes, businessman David Warnock, and Elizabeth Embry, the chief of the criminal division under the attorney general.
To get an invitation to the debate, candidates had to have registered at least 5 percent support in the most recent citywide poll, which was conducted by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies Inc. from Jan. 11 to Jan. 17.
Mckesson, who did not enter the race until the Feb. 3 filing deadline, took a conciliatory tone when asked about his exclusion from the debate.
“Between now and Election Day, there will be plenty of opportunities to compare my vision with that of my opponents,” Mckesson said via email. “Tomorrow, and for the rest of my campaign, my focus will be on talking with Baltimore voters about the promise of our city, and how we can become the Baltimore we know we can become. I continue to support the work of and engage with organizers across Baltimore, discussing a new way forward for the city and I am looking forward to continuing the conversation.”
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle is a grassroots think-tank that advocates for the public policy interests of the African American community in Baltimore.
It hosted the debate at Coppin State University in partnership with Baltimore United for Change, a grassroots organization working for social change in the city.
Jackson co-founded LBS when he was a student at Towson University along with other nationally ranked college debaters after being deeply involved with advocacy and activism for black students on campus.
LBS seeks “to radically change the discourse around local and regional politics by injecting community voices into political conversations through policy research, advocacy, and community organizing from a grassroots perspective,” according to the group’s website.
Jackson said some of their efforts include training young people to be strong debaters and advocates of public policy when it comes to issues like police reform and education.
LBS’s director of research and public policy, Dayvon Love, came to prominence in 2008 when he and others from Towson became the first African American students to win a national debate championship.
Moderators of the debate included Sean Yoes, radio host of First Edition on WEAA 88.9 FM; Catalina Byrd, a political strategist and commentator; and Lawrence Grandpre, the assistant director of research and public policy for LBS.
The debate was held at the James Weldon Johnson Auditorium at Coppin State.