The Rev. Jamal Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Northwest Baltimore, announced Monday that he is running for the 7th District congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings.
Bryant, a Democrat, made the announcement in front of the Freddie Gray Youth Empowerment Center in Bolton Hill surrounded by supporters.
He said he is “not opposing anyone” but “proposing new ideas.”
“At this moment, we are facing a great many crisis’; whether they be home and abroad,” Bryan said. “It is time for [this generation] to stand and lead.”
Bryant’s campaign will largely focus on police accountability.
“I think the whole nation is looking for police reform,” he said. “I plan on going to Capitol Hill as a representative of a brand new movement that realizes that we must have protest but we also must have policy.”
Bryant has appeared in Ferguson, Mo., Sanford, Fla, Cleveland and Staten Island in response to the deaths of unarmed African-American men at the hands of police or neighborhood watchmen.
In Baltimore, Bryant delivered an emotional and politically charged eulogy at the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal cord injury he suffered while in police custody last April.
He led a protest in May against the state’s decision to build a new youth jail, blocking traffic into town on Interstates 95 and 395 and Rt. 295/Russell Street during the morning rush hour.
Bryant said his campaign also will focus on job opportunities.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that poverty is the bride of crime; that whenever you see crime, you see poverty,” he said. “American has been keen on dealing with crime but not discussing poverty.”
Rep. Cummings said it is “definitely premature” to think he’s not running for re-election. He is rumored to be considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat Barbara Mikulski is vacating next year. Cummings said he will make an announcement in the next couple of months.
Bryant said he did not talk to Cummings or knows what his plans are but praised him for his work for the congressional district that includes the city and parts of Baltimore and Howard counties.
“If he decided to stay in, I would have a conversation with him because I respect him that much,” he said.