2016 Election: Dr. Ben Carson Launches Campaign in the 2016 Presidential Race

On Monday, Dr. Ben Carson announced he is joining the growing pool of Republican contenders in the race for the White House.

"I'm Ben Carson, and I'm a candidate for president of the United States," he told a crowd in his hometown of Detroit, according to CNN.

During his speech, the 63-year-old retired neurosurgeon differentiated himself from the other candidates running in the 2016 race, which includes Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul.

"I just want to say to voters: with me they can expect to see logic and common sense as opposed to politics. I'm not a politician. I never intended to become a politician," he said before about 1,700 at the Detroit Music Hall, reports The Detroit Free Press.

"Politicians do things that are politically expedient. They've always got their fingers in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. It's time for somebody who is going to do what's right and what makes sense for everybody and not for any particular segment of society," he added.

Carson also recalled his humble beginnings and growing up in a roach-infested home in Detroit.

"In the more upscale areas, they called 'em waterbugs, but we knew what they were," he joked.

Despite his modest upbringing, he went on to attend Yale University and to become the first African American to head the pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University. Carson is also recognized for becoming the first doctor to successfully separate twins who were conjoined at the head, notes the Wall Street Journal.

In addition, Carson addressed the unrest in Baltimore that erupted following the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died from a severe neck injury while in police custody.

According to Carson, the "real issue is that people are losing hope" because the economy is failing them. "They don't feel that life is going to be good for them, no matter what happens, so when an opportunity comes to loot, to riot, to get mine, they take it, not believing that there is a much better way to get the things that they desire," he said.