Maj Toure
Toure at FreedomFest 2021
Born
Martin Anthony Jones

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupations
  • Political activist
  • Rapper
Known forFounding Black Guns Matter
Political partyIndependent (2019–present)
Libertarian (until 2019)[1]

Maj Toure (born Martin Anthony Jones)[2] is an American libertarian political activist and rapper. Toure is closely associated with the Mises Caucus wing of the American Libertarian Party.[3]

A native of North Philadelphia, Toure founded the educational nonprofit organization Black Guns Matter in 2016.[2][4] The organization advocates for the right to keep and bear arms, and promotes responsible ownership of firearms within African-American and urban communities.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

He has released three rap/hip hop recordings: Solutionary Vol. 1 (2005), Solutionary Vol. 2 (2014), and Solutionary Vol. 3 (2016).[10][11]

Toure was a candidate for an at-large seat in the Philadelphia City Council in the city's 2019 election. He ran as a Libertarian.[12] In addition to his support for Second Amendment rights, his stated political priorities included: criminal justice reform; ending the practice of solitary confinement; legalization of cannabis; improved education in Philadelphia; and conflict resolution training for disconnected youths.[12][13] On November 5, 2019, Toure finished 15th in a field of 17 candidates in the city's election, failing to secure a seat on the City Council. He received 5,676 votes (0.5% of the vote total).[14]

Toure spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2019.[2][15]

In a dialogue with Lawrence B. Jones in 2021, Toure applauded grassroots anti-racist protestors for emphasizing that black lives do in fact matter, while denouncing Black Lives Matter, Inc. as a "money laundering operation" that "fleeces the black community," with the goal of aiding Democratic politicians.[16]

Electoral history

Philadelphia City Council Member At-Large, 2019 general election
Vote for 7
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Helen Gym 205,661 15.4
Democratic Isaiah Thomas 196,733 14.7
Democratic Derek S. Green 189,819 14.2
Democratic Katherine Gilmore Richardson 189,813 14.2
Democratic Allan Domb 186,665 13.9
Working Families Kendra Brooks 60,256 4.5
Republican David Oh 53,742 4.0
Republican Al Taubenberger 47,547 3.6
Working Families Nicolas O'Rourke 46,560 3.5
Republican Dan Tinney 46,270 3.5
Republican Bill Heeney 43,249 3.2
Republican Matt Wolfe 41,341 3.1
Independent Sherrie Cohen 9,116 0.7
Independent Joe Cox 8,880 0.7
Libertarian Maj Toure 6,179 0.5
Independent Steve Cherniavsky 3,480 0.4
Independent Clarc King 2,959 0.2
Write-in 745 nil
Total votes 1,339,015 100
Democratic hold
Democratic hold
Democratic hold
Democratic hold
Democratic hold
Working Families gain from Republican
Republican hold

References

  1. ↑ Brennan, Chris; Seidman, Andrew (15 November 2019). "Maj Toure exits the Libertarian Party in controversy after a failed bid for City Council". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Brennan, Chris; Seidman, Andrew (November 15, 2019). "Maj Toure exits the Libertarian Party in controversy after a failed bid for City Council". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ Gillespie, Nick; Weissmueller, Zach. "Maj Toure: Why Black Guns—and Libertarianism—Matter". reason.com. Reason. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Black guns matter: Weapons campaigner wants more access to guns". Daily Express. February 17, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  5. ↑ Newhouse, Sam (May 20, 2016). "Rapper: Answer to bloodbath on Philly's streets – more guns". Metro. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  6. ↑ Malagon, Elvia (May 17, 2018). "Black Guns Matter bringing gun rights workshop to Chicago's African-American community". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ Kogan, Danielle (July 7, 2018). "March For Our Rights: Pro-Gun Activists Rally In 13 Cities Across U.S." Newsweek. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  8. ↑ Manchester, Julia (March 1, 2019). "Black Guns Matter leader on conservative support for arming urban communities: 'Talk is cheap'". The Hill. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  9. ↑ Miles, Tiya (March 9, 2019). "The Black Gun Owner Next Door". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Maj Toure" Archived 2019-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, CDbaby.com.
  11. ↑ Rupp, Jacqueline (October 12, 2016) "Under the Gun: Advocacy group aims to train blacks", Philadelphia Weekly. Retrieved May 10.
  12. 1 2 Shaheeli, Joe (May 10, 2019). "Libertarian Toure Hunts at-Large Seat". The Public Record. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  13. ↑ Fink, Jenni (April 2, 2019). "After Nipsey Hussle's Death, Black Guns Matter Founder Pushes For Conflict Resolution Skills". Newsweek. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  14. ↑ "2019 Pennsylvania general election results". WHYY. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  15. ↑ Schreckinger, Ben (March 1, 2019). "New CPAC stars: Black gun rights activists". Politico.
  16. ↑ Toure, Maj (24 May 2021). "Black Guns Matter Founder Maj Toure: Black Lives Matter "Designed Specifically To Fleece The Black Community"" (Interview). Interviewed by Lawrence B. Jones.
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