Gary Chambers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gary Chambers
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| Born | August 5, 1985 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 1 |
Gary Chambers Jr. (born August 5, 1985) is an American civil rights activist and perennial candidate from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, Chambers ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 United States Senate election in Louisiana, the 2021 Louisiana's 2nd congressional district special election, and, in 2019, for Louisiana's 15th State Senate district.
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Early life and education
Chambers was born and raised in northern Baton Rouge, Louisiana in a middle-class, predominantly-Black neighborhood. He was raised by his aunt and uncle, Ivon Johnson, a public school teacher, and William Johnson, a janitor, whom he calls "mom" and "dad". At age 13, Chambers's biological father regained his sobriety and Chambers moved to Jacksonville, Florida, later returning to Baton Rouge and graduating from Glen Oaks High School.
Career
After high school, Chambers lived with his cousins in New Orleans, where he worked as a manager to reopen a Home Depot location in New Orleans East following Hurricane Katrina. He later returned again to Baton Rouge to manage a car dealership. Chambers is also an ordained minister.
In 2012, Chambers launched The Rouge Collection, a publication focusing on the Black community in northern Baton Rouge.
By 2016, Chambers had become an outspoken civil rights advocate in north Baton Rouge. He led protests against the killing of Alton Sterling, and served as a spokesperson for the Sterling family and master of ceremonies at Sterling's funeral.
In 2019, Chambers ran unsuccessfully against State Senator Regina Barrow for Louisiana's 15th State Senate district, winning 26% of the vote.
In 2020, Chambers led street protests following the murder of George Floyd.
2020 school board meeting
In June 2020, Chambers, who has a daughter who attends public schools in Baton Rouge, attended a meeting of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, which was debating whether to rename Lee High School, named for Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Chambers and others had unsuccessfully attempted to convince the school board to change the name of the school since 2016. During the public comments portion of the 2020 school board meeting, Chambers displayed a photograph showing a member of the school board shopping online during the meeting, and said this showed that the school board member did not care about racial justice. A video clip of Chambers' public testimony at the school board meeting received millions of views online. The school is now named Liberty Magnet High School. After the school board meeting, Chambers called for the removal of other Confederacy symbols in Louisiana, such as the statute of Confederate general Francis T. Nicholls at Nicholls State University.
2021 special election campaign
Chambers ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for U.S. Representative to represent Louisiana's 2nd congressional district in 2021. He was encouraged to run by Shaun King and other national progressive leaders. Chambers's progressive platform included paying for Medicare for All by reducing defense spending. He supported the Green New Deal, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Build Back Better Plan, a $15 federal minimum wage, and a moratorium on drilling in US waters in the Gulf of Mexico. At a campaign debate, Chambers said he believed Donald Trump incited the January 6 attack and that had Chambers been in Congress at the time, he would have voted to impeach Trump.
Chambers's campaign raised $400,000, almost as much as his opponents, and he had a larger social media presence, with hundreds of thousands of online followers. At the March 20, 2021, primary election, Chambers beat expectations, largely by capturing a larger-than-expected share of white votes. He won 21% of the vote, narrowly missing a run-off by 1,550 votes.
Chambers endorsed second-place finisher Karen Carter Peterson in the April 24 runoff election. However, Peterson was unable to draw enough support from white liberals in New Orleans who voted for Chambers and lost the run-off to Troy Carter.
In September 2021, Bigger Than Me, a nonprofit organization founded by Chambers that supports progressive candidates in the Southern United States, distributed generators and gasoline donated by Jrue Holiday to people in southeast Louisiana following Hurricane Ida.
2022 U.S. Senate campaign
On January 12, 2022, at age 36, Chambers announced his candidacy as a Democrat to run for the United States Senate. According to journalist Tyler Bridges, political experts consider it unlikely that Chambers will win. If elected, Chambers would be the first Black person to hold statewide office in Louisiana since 1872.
