In this moment, Maryland has a unique opportunity to be bold about the systemic and generational challenges that have held families back for decades.
This is a core part of why Wes Moore is running for Governor.
From leading soldiers in combat in Afghanistan, to working in the financial sector, to building and running a small business in Baltimore that helped first-generation students succeed in college, to serving as Chief Executive Officer of one of the largest anti-poverty nonprofits in the United States – Wes has demonstrated a core understanding of the economic barriers facing Black families in Maryland and the tools needed to address them.
In Maryland, the average White family has eight times the wealth of the average Black family. The average Black worker makes 71 cents to the White worker’s dollar.
This bold action plan to unlock economic opportunity for Black families in Maryland seeks to both meet the urgent needs that families across the state are facing, and move Maryland toward the kind of generational change that addresses the generational challenges that got us to a state of fragility and disparity.
Through this plan, we sought to build on the critical work that Speaker Adrienne Jones detailed in her Racial & Economic Justice Agenda, which Wes worked closely to help develop.
We also leveraged the frameworks and policy agendas of bedrock organizations like the Maryland state conference of the NAACP, The President’s Roundtable, and the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus.
Wes believes strongly that effective leadership involves listening and good governance involves uplifting voices closest to the problem as we work toward solutions. To that end, this plan will evolve and update based on additional learnings gained on the road to Annapolis.
Wes knows deeply that increasing opportunity across Maryland is not merely an exercise in economic policy. Increased opportunity will depend on our ability to confront existential threats like climate change, which disproportionately affects Black and Brown families in Maryland. It is reflected and laid bare by how the COVID-19 pandemic affected communities that were struggling before COVID. It is deeply tied to our transportation policies, and how we approach moving people from where they live to where they work. It is rooted in our ability to provide people with the basic right to quality healthcare, amid a reality where getting sick is the number one cause of bankruptcy in Maryland. It is seen in the damaging impacts of historic crime policies and the need to continue to holistically reimagine prison and criminal justice policies. It is driven by our commitment to transform Maryland’s Pre-K to 12 educational system and ensure every child has access to a quality education regardless of zip code.
We know that issues affecting Black families are issues of childcare, Pre-K, healthcare, education, workforce development, college and career prep, public safety, transportation, climate, social justice, nutrition, and more. And we cannot unlock economic opportunities for Black families unless we address the systemic barriers that have locked so many out for so long.
This bold plan focuses on tools to give Black families in Maryland increased access to work that imparts dignity and career options, wages that you can raise a family on, and wealth that imparts stability for families and allows people to pass on something other than debt to their children.
Increasing access to work, wages, and wealth are north stars for Wes Moore’s campaign for Maryland Governor, and they guide this bold agenda for increased economic opportunity for Black families in Maryland.