DeRay Mckesson Tells Janet Mock He Doesn't Feel The 'Burden' To Come Out Gay

DeRay Mckesson covers the April/May issue of gay glossy The Advocate.

Mckesson came to prominence as a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The 30-year-old activist left a six-figure job in Baltimore to document the movement on social media. In Missouri, Mckesson joined Johnetta Elzie, a leading figure in the movement, to create This Is The Movement, a newsletter on events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement.

In speaking with Janet Mock, host of MSNBC's So Popular, Mckesson said that he struggles to respond to his critics who say that the movement doesn't need a single male leader.

“I can't defend it,” he said. “Maybe this is my defense mechanism, but I know this might not last. I could get kicked out of the movement any day.”

“I'm not ashamed to be gay. All of me gets to show up and you don't get to decide how,” he continued. “But I also don't feel that burden to come out. I feel the burden to do really good work. The biggest thing I can do in the movement is be a gay man doing really good work and not be afraid to love.”

Mckesson is currently vying to become Baltimore's 50^th mayor.