Baltimore—— A major election victory on November 8 cemented Governor Wes Moore’s status as a maker of history.
That’s when the 44-year-old politician became Maryland’s first elected black governor.
The historic election has brought Maryland’s long and complicated racial history into focus.
“His election is the culmination of centuries of struggle to secure African-American voting rights and the ability to hold elective office and rise to Maryland’s highest electoral office,” Conservation Maryland executive director Nicholas Redding told WJZ.
He said the symbolic distinction was long overdue.
“It’s important to put today in context, what it means, and look back at the long river of the Ark, not only the history of the state, but the history of Maryland, and how long and how much hard work and toil and struggle it took to get here. What a day to celebrate,” Redding said.
On the day the 15th Amendment was passed and ratified, celebrations erupted in Maryland.
The amendment made it possible for African Americans to vote and use political power to gain representation.
Redding also noted that the United States just passed the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.
The anniversary is notable because Marylanders voted for office in this election cycle Aruna Miller, the first woman of color and the state’s first lieutenant governor. an immigrant.
“So only 100 years ago, even in the memory of some people who are still alive, women in the United States were not given the right to vote,” he said.
The rise of Moore and Miller was a catalyst for advancing racial equality and reshaping the political future.
“It’s truly an amazing and rich story of the grit and determination of the African-American community to ensure they not only won that right, but kept it,” Redding said.
Plus, the election proves that Maryland is embracing diversity.
“As a historian, we mark the calendar, we mark the dates of history,” he said. “We look back to 1870 as the first black male suffrage in this country. Someday in the future, we’ll look back to 2022 when an African-American was elected governor for the first time.”
Nikki Zizaza
