ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Wes Moore, placing his hand on a Bible once owned by abolitionist Frederick Douglass, took his oath of office Wednesday to become Maryland’s 63rd governor, the state’s first and the country’s only current Black chief executive.
Moore was sworn in alongside his family, new Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and state lawmakers inside the State House’s Senate chamber in Annapolis and was set to address a crowd of well-wishers outside the historic building after being introduced by Oprah Winfrey.
The moment punctuated the swift and historic rise of Moore, a 44-year-old political newcomer living in Baltimore who 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.
