Meeting Maj Toure

 

@NorthStarEditorial | "A meeting with King Maj Toure Founder of Black Guns Matter."

Meeting Maj Toure: A Conversation on Rights, Representation, and the Real Work Behind Movements

Minneapolis, June 27, 2017

It was a small gathering — public, local, and intentional. A community networking event that brought together a cross-section of interest: registered gun owners, those looking to become registered, and others eyeing the business side of firearms — licensing, retail, and policy. What united them was a shared desire to access information, ask questions, and hear directly from the man behind the mic that evening: Maj Toure, founder of Black Guns Matter.

Toure’s Minneapolis stop was one of many on his national tour — a grassroots initiative focused on Second Amendment education, gun safety, and advocacy specifically aimed at Black and Brown communities historically left out of these conversations. But this wasn’t a lecture. It was a dialogue. And above all, it was a space where the cultural narrative around gun ownership — who’s included, who’s informed, and who’s empowered — was being reshaped in real time.

“Had an opportunity to hear from King Maj Toure yesterday evening during the Minneapolis stop on his #BlackGunsMatter tour. I want to salute the brother firstly, because as the creator of this moment, his intention is positive and the sacrifice is real.”

There’s something rare about seeing a national figure work a room like this — not as a brand, but as a builder. Toure wasn’t required to pour his time, energy, and resources into making sure Black people and other people of color are informed, trained, and at the table when it comes to the Second Amendment. But he chose to. And that choice carries cost — visible and not.

“It solidifies for me, how difficult it is to organize a moment, to be a professional head or representative of that movement, and to keep all machines operating in the beginning.”

The event felt local and real — not curated or corporate. And that’s part of what made it powerful. Because beneath the talking points and policy, there’s an often-unspoken truth: it is hard to build something new and keep it alive. Especially when that something is about shifting power and centering Black autonomy in spaces where it’s historically been criminalized.

Toure's work lands in that uncomfortable intersection of rights, race, and responsibility — and no matter where one stands politically, it’s hard to ignore the value of simply showing up with knowledge and offering it freely. That night, he did.

“I feel for him, the same way I feel for local grassroots movement with good intentions. It's not easy.”

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