{"id":1364,"date":"2023-02-09T09:31:17","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T13:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatorgazette.rhsgators.com\/blog\/?p=1364"},"modified":"2023-02-09T09:31:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T13:31:18","slug":"wes-moore-takes-oath-of-office-as-marylands-first-black-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatorgazette.rhsgators.com\/blog\/wes-moore-takes-oath-of-office-as-marylands-first-black-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"Wes Moore Takes Oath of Office as Maryland\u2019s First Black Governor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Sam Janesch and Hannah Gaskill, The Baltimore Sun, Tribune Content Agency, adapted by Newsela staff<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Placing his hand on a Bible once owned by abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Wes Moore took his oath of office January 18, 2023, to become Maryland\u2019s 63rd governor. He is the state\u2019s first and the country\u2019s only current Black chief executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moore was sworn in alongside his family, new Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller and state lawmakers inside the State House\u2019s Senate chamber in Annapolis and addressed a crowd of well-wishers outside the historic building after being introduced by Oprah Winfrey. Guests included Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton; former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; and Baltimore Orioles baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cToday is not the victory \u2014 today is the opportunity,\u201d Moore said in his inaugural remarks. \u201cAn opportunity to lead with love. An opportunity to create with compassion. An opportunity to fight fearlessly for our future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The moment punctuated the swift and historic rise of Moore, a political newcomer. He became a rising star in Democratic politics during a campaign in which he pledged to tackle generational problems such as child poverty and racial wealth gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A former bestselling author, Army veteran and nonprofit leader, Moore spent his career circling politics before jumping into the race to succeed Republican Larry Hogan. Maryland governors are limited to two four-year terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moore\u2019s Plans for Maryland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the primary, Moore\u2019s 32 percentage-point victory marked the largest winning margin for any governor in the state in nearly four decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his remarks, Moore promised to both \u201csupport our first responders who risk everything to protect us, and change the inexcusable fact that Maryland incarcerates more Black boys than any other state.\u201d He said data-driven strategies would help keep violent offenders off the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moore also said the state would confront climate change as \u201ca leader in wind technology, in grid electrification and clean transit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And he repeated a frequent campaign pledge to create a paid year of service for high school graduates. He also promised to invest in special education students, students learning English and LGBTQIA+ students, \u201cand every kid who needs a little extra help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winfrey greeted the crowd with a \u201cHello, Maryland!\u201d and said she met Moore in 2010 when she interviewed him about his first book, \u201cThe Other Wes Moore.\u201d She said she learned on January 6, 2021, that he wanted to run for governor as supporters of then-President Donald Trump were rioting at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201c\u2018You want to run in this climate?\u2019\u201d she remembered asking, and said he replied, \u201c\u2018Exactly. Exactly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Confronting The History Of Slavery<\/h2>\n\n\n\nMaryland Governor Wes Moore, along with his wife, Dawn, daughter, Mia, and son, James, waves to the crowd during his inauguration at the Maryland State House. Photo: Kenneth K. Lam\/Baltimore Sun\/Tribune News Service<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
During the campaign, Moore sometimes downplayed the fact that he would be Maryland\u2019s first Black governor \u2014 saying repeatedly his \u201cassignment was not to make history.\u201d During his inauguration day, he embraced Maryland\u2019s Black heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That included a visit in the morning to City Dock in Annapolis, Maryland, where enslaved Africans once arrived on Maryland\u2019s shores. Moore said it was important to acknowledge Maryland\u2019s long road from slavery to his inauguration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sherrilyn Ifill is a former University of Maryland School of Law professor and former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She said at City Dock that Moore \u201chas invited us to ask, \u2018How should we reconcile this auspicious moment with the history that calls us from this place?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She spoke of Douglass sailing past the very spot they were standing 197 years ago as he traveled as an enslaved boy from the Eastern Shore to Baltimore. She also spoke of Kunta Kinte, the ancestor of \u201cRoots\u201d author Alex Haley, whose name is memorialized at the dock because of his arrival there in 1767.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThis history, the history of chattel slavery in this country and in the state of Maryland, has shaped the political, social, economic and legal infrastructure of our cities, counties and our state. We cannot deny it, much as we may try,\u201d Ifill said. \u201cOur confrontation with this history is the only way we can overcome its lingering effects.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProof That In Maryland, Anything Is Possible\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At the ceremony, people gathered in the surrounding streets and video screens and chairs for guests filled the area. The sense of history was not lost on the crowd there. Jocelyn Montgomery and 16-year-old Janiya Deshields drove about two hours from Salisbury. Montgomery used to be Janiya\u2019s youth pastor. \u201cMy parents and my grandparents always tell stories of being a part of history, but now actually being able to be here to be a part of it, it\u2019s amazing for me,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great day to make history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up on the stage, the new governor\u2019s 9-year-old son, James, led the Pledge of Allegiance. Miller\u2019s three daughters introduced their \u201cmommy.\u201d Miller, who emigrated from India when she was 7, swore her oath of office on the Bhagavad-Gita, a book of Hindu scripture. Moore recognized both Miller\u2019s mother, Hema, and his mother, Joy, as immigrants whose children are now in the highest offices in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cYou are proof that in Maryland, anything is possible,\u201d Moore said as he looked at them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Two days after the inauguration, Moore announced his first state budget plan. It outlined the programs and issues he will turn his attention toward during his first year. His team also introduced bills that he hopes will pass in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. Legislative leaders have so far expressed optimism in working with Moore and sharing priorities as they control both branches of government for the first time in eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moore has spoken with urgency about several topics that he could focus on. He would like to hire more state workers to fill vacant or previously eliminated positions and raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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