By Doni Glover, Publisher
(BALTIMORE – November 8, 2022) – It’s official. Westley Watende Omari Moore – a successful investment banker, author, and television producer – has become the first Black Governor of the State of Maryland. Black people just south of the Mason-Dixon Line – as well as all Marylanders – should be proud.
As a Black journalist who has covered state politics for the past quarter century, I know I am. The ancestors cheer from the other side. They shed tears of joy for finally Maryland is living up to the original vision of George Calvert, its founder. The 1st Baron Baltimore was a converted Catholic who desired a place with religious toleration. Maryland is one of the original 13 colonies and therefore the meaning of Moore’s ascension has levels of meaning – depending on how deep you want to get.
Washington Post columnist Ovetta Wiggins recently noted how Black Americans are in top positions in Maryland for the first time in history and how a once majority-white state is now majority non-white. For the first time, there are no white men at the top of the ticket.
Twenty years ago when this news outlet was just getting started, the first statewide election we covered was in 2002 when Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend went up against Republican Congressman Robert Ehrlich.
Something magical happened and I saw it with my own eyes.
Before I proceed, let me say that Wes Moore stands on the expansive shoulders of brave hearts like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Matthew Alexander Henson, Benjamin Banneker, Isaac Myers, Harvey Johnson, the Goon Squad, and countless others – including Congressman Parren J. Mitchell. He stands on the shoulders of giants and so somewhere in the deep beyond – the good Lord had this planned all along … and for a time like now.
In that 2002 election, we saw Blacks from Prince George’s County – like Rev. Chet Howard and Joe Gaskins – connecting with people in Baltimore, like Raymond V. Haysbert, Sr., ‘the Dean of Business’. Part of Haysbert’s genius was bringing like-minded people together, especially in the realm of business. The Presidents’ Roundtable is an example. The EDGE Center was another. The Haysbert Entrepreneur Center at the Urban League is yet another. Haysbert had this uncanny ability to connect with people no matter their station in life. His wisdom permeated these people and slowly but surely, Black political power in Maryland was reimagined.
Unbeknownst to most Black Democrats in Baltimore, there were and are Black Republicans. Like Haysbert. One of my mentors is another, William Hopson. Beyond that, there were like-minded people in Prince George’s and Baltimore who were doing business together and could think outside the box.
So, when the Kennedy-Townsend campaign failed to connect with this growing number of entrepreneurial and upwardly mobile Blacks who are doing business up and down 95, own their own homes, and who think for themselves, it was the beginning of the end for her. By the way, that overnight-Democrat Admiral Charles R. Larson meant nothing to voters; t’was a Hail Mary that went awry. The campaign failed to listen to Black advisers, like Dawn Flythe.
One lesson that the Moore campaign demonstrated was the ability to engage the people effectively by land, air, TV, radio, and internet. They left no stone unturned – from the Easter Shore to Hagerstown. The Moore campaign mastered the field, as unexpected as it might seem to some. He outraised the field, which was historic in and of itself.
And, boy, did he bring in the big guns. Mad respect for Oprah; she has supported Wes Moore as she did Barack Obama. And to see the President Obama commercial – that was special. And then, to see Moore beside the President of the United States – this tells me that is exactly what’s next. (Wes, you got 8 years!)
And so, Michael Steele became Lieutenant Governor with Robert Ehrlich as the Governor. For the first time in 36 years, the people did something different. They opposed the same old “side-piece” treatment from Democrats and opted for change.
Steele’s historic tenure forced Martin O’Malley to select Anthony Brown when he ran for Governor.
Larry Hogan, 8 years later, chose Boyd K. Rutherford for the second-in-charge post. Steele, Brown, and Rutherford are all Black men, for the record.
But it all started with Steele. That’s where this Baltimore-Prince George’s synergy was first imagined among Maryland Black business owners like never before. Blacks have increasingly grown in business and politics ever since.
It is a reminder that politics and business go hand in hand. At Morgan State University in my Master’s program, we study political economy. It is the interrelationship of politics – the process of determining who gets what, when, and where – and economics, the allocation of scarce resources.
Moore’s victory is a part of this long and strong continuum of bold Black leaders, many of whom have gone on. However, their blood, sweat, and tears are the foundation of this new administration.
As for Moore, he said he was not concerned with making history. He said that he wants to make history in a different kind of way, like ending childhood poverty.
Now, Moore can get to work. Dawn, his superwoman wife, cannot be forgotten. She is a political mastermind that deserves her own column (Don’t worry. It’s coming.).
Congratulations to the people of the Great State of Maryland for electing a good man who would never dictate to a woman what to do with her body. Moore is not the kind of person. And he is a patriot who didn’t scale a wall of the Capital to show he’s a patriot. No, Moore took his combat training to the battlefield where it belongs. Moore would never disgrace our flag like that. Au contraire. I believe in my heart of hearts that Moore is going to make us even prouder!
Salute, Mr. Governor!
