Maj Toure (born Martin Anthony Jones) is an American

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

political activist and rapper. Toure is closely associated with the Mises Caucus wing of the American Libertarian Party. A native of North Philadelphia, Toure founded the educational nonprofit organization

Black Guns Matter Black Guns Matter is an organization aimed at educating African Americans about gun culture in the United States, primarily around defending Second Amendment rights. The organization is led by Maj Toure, who founded it in 2016. Black Guns Matte ...

in 2016. The organization advocates for the

right to keep and bear arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

, and promotes responsible ownership of firearms within African-American and urban communities. He has released three rap/ hip hop recordings: ''Solutionary Vol. 1'' (2005), ''Solutionary Vol. 2'' (2014), and ''Solutionary Vol. 3'' (2016). Toure was a candidate for an

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

seat in the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

in the city's 2019 election. He ran as a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

. In addition to his support for Second Amendment rights, his stated political priorities included: criminal justice reform; ending the practice of

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

; legalization of cannabis; improved education in Philadelphia; and conflict resolution training for disconnected youths. 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). Toure spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2019. In a dialogue with

Lawrence B. Jones Lawrence Billy Jones III (born December 10, 1992) is an American libertarianism in the United States, libertarian political commentator, Fox News contributor, talk radio host, and author. He came to prominence in 2015 for raising money for a pizza ...

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.

Electoral history

References

External links

Maj Toure's City Council official campaign site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toure, Maj Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American activists 21st-century American rappers Activists from Philadelphia African-American male rappers American cannabis activists American gun rights activists American libertarians Critics of Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania Libertarians Rappers from Philadelphia