Cult film director John Waters — dubbed the Pope of Trash for his inimitable style of drag-comedy-horror in films including Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble — has come out in support of the prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson in the Baltimore Mayoral contest.
“Hi, I’m John Waters, and I’m voting for DeRay Mckesson for Mayor,” Waters says in a short video posted to Mckesson’s Twitter. While the director acknowledges that, “many candidates wouldn’t want my endorsement,’ he explains why he is coming out publicly in support of Mckesson’s campaign.
Baltimore’s John Waters on the 2016 Mayoral Election.https://t.co/jTUcj8ruZR — deray mckesson (@deray) March 29, 2016
“Sure, the two Baltimore frontrunners in the election polls would do a good job if they won; but would anything really change?” he asks. “I’m not sure what I could do to help Baltimore with its problems these days,” he says, suggesting, “So why not let somebody younger and more radical than I am have a crack at it?” Adding that he likes DeRay’s “surprisingly well detailed platform, his national presence, his un-macho, but still angry, raised fist,” Walters also notes that, “Yep, I like his fashion sense too!”
Mckesson’s campaign website explains that, “Spurred by the death of Mike Brown and the subsequent protests in Ferguson, Missouri, DeRay has become a leading voice in the effort to confront the systems and structures that lead to the mass incarceration and police killings of black and other minority populations.” His platform focuses on police reform, expanding local education programs, raising the minimum wage and improving transport links.