Celebrating Black History Month

Every February, we honor the contributions that African Americans have made across our country and throughout our state — contributions that have shaped every facet of society, advanced every professional and academic field, and helped define what it means to be an American.

Here in Maryland we also celebrate our rich legacy of extraordinary African American leaders. Marylanders like Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, Thurgood Marshall and Verda Welcome, among so many others, worked to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice. Their courage, faith, and self-reliance shaped our collective history and advanced the rights, hopes and inclusion of African Americans in this country.
 
It is our responsibility during Black History Month and beyond not only to deepen our understanding and appreciation of these leaders, but also to learn from them — and the urgency with which they acted. We must acknowledge that despite the progress we’ve made, inequalities and injustices persist — from the scandal of mass incarceration and the disproportionate impact of the failed war on drugs, to the contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan and the persistence of lead poisoning in Baltimore.

This month we recommit ourselves to living out our creed that all people are created equal and our goal of building an ever more perfect union. We must not rest until we make good on the promise of equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity.

–Chris