Tami Sawyer announced Thursday she's running for mayor of Memphis, declaring "Memphis Can't Wait."

The 36-year-old freshman Shelby County Commissioner announced her intent to run through a video posted to YouTube.

Sawyer, who also serves as the director of diversity and community partnerships for Teach For America, became a high-profile Memphis activist as one of the main organizers behind #TakeEmDown901, the civic-led push to remove statues honoring the Confederacy from public spaces.

“Whenever I get a chance to talk about Memphis, I talk about the thing I love the most, and that’s the people,” Sawyer begins her announcement. “We have made it through incredible odds. We come together to fight for our city and fight for our people.”

THE 9:01:What Tami Sawyer's run for mayor means for Memphis

Sawyer has spoken of a need for stronger representation of Memphis’ majority black population and has called for immediate measures to relieve economic inequality for black Memphians.

“The reality is that while we are the greatest asset this city has, we don’t have the equity and opportunity we need to thrive,” Sawyer said in the announcement video. “I’m running for mayor because we haven’t been heard, and we haven’t been included. The city is running along on a wave that ignores us.”

In addition to incumbent Mayor Jim Strickland, Sawyer will also run against former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, who was in office from 1992 to 2009 and was the city's first elected black mayor. Last year, Herenton announced his plans to run again in 2019.

Small business owner and retired pastor Lemichael Wilson has also announced he intends to run for Memphis mayor.

The mayoral candidate field may widen before the July 18 deadline to submit nominating petitions. The Memphis City Council's 13 seats will also be on the Oct. 3 ballot.

Sawyer was one of several new county commissioners to be elected in August. She represents District 7, which includes Frayser, Raleigh, Klondike, Smokey City and Overton Park.

In her announcement, Sawyer says that Memphis needs a mayor who understands poverty and the driving forces behind it.

According to U.S. Census data, aggregated and compiled yearly by Elena Delevega at the University of Memphis, the City of Memphis has an overall poverty rate of more than 26 percent, and a child poverty rate of 40 percent.

The same data says more than 29 percent of black Memphians and 33 percent of Latino Memphians live in poverty, compared to 12.3 percent of white Memphians.

Her campaign theme, “We can’t wait,” offers a message at direct odds with Strickland, who has been repeating the phrase “Memphis has momentum,” often referring to the ongoing and planned billions of dollars in new development around the city.

Sawyer maintains, in her video, that Memphis “can’t wait for development that is equitable and has benefits" and says Memphis needs a mayor "that we can trust will represent and serve all residents, and work to ensure that the doors of opportunity offered and created in our city are unlocked and open to everyone."

Sawyer is planning a news conference on Friday, which is International Women's Day, and a "Memphis Can't Wait" rally at 5 p.m. Saturday at Clayborn Temple.

If Sawyer's mayoral bid is successful, the Shelby County Commission would appoint a replacement, according to Shelby County Attorney Marlinee Iverson.

Strickland, who made official his plans to run for re-election in January, issued a statement Thursday morning in response to a question posed to his campaign about Sawyer’s candidacy that touts his record but doesn't mention Sawyer directly.

Strickland counted increasing opportunities for youth, rebuilding the Memphis Police Department and "bringing more equity to our economy" among his administration's achievements, in his Thursday statement.

"We will continue to build on this positive momentum to ensure that it reaches every corner and every community in Memphis – that’s our focus moving forward and that’s the message of my campaign,” Strickland said.

But shortly after Sawyer’s announcement dropped on social media, the Friends of Jim Strickland Facebook page made a post with photos of Strickland with some of Sawyer’s colleagues on the Shelby County Commission that states: “Proud that eight of the 10 county commissioners that represent Memphis have endorsed me.”