Jan. 2024
Currently the only Black governor in the U. S.
Governor Moore takes office as wife Dawn Flythe Moore and two children, Mia and James,watch. He follows a short line of other Black governors. PHOTO: Courtesy
Deval Patrick was the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015.
L. Douglas Wilder, the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994, was America's first elected Black governor after Pinchback succeeded Dunn after Dunn's death during Reconstruction.
P.B.S. Pinchback served as Louisiana's governor from December 9, 1872, to January 13, 1873. Pinchback, who had been lieutenant governor, assumed the office of governor, succeeding Dunn, who died in office. 
Oscar Dunn, Louisiana's acting governor, served during the Reconstruction Era from June 27, 1868 and died in office on November 22, 1871.
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from BlackManStreet.Today
(TriceEdneyWire.com/BlackManStreet.Today) - Governor Moore took the oath of office twice on Thursday--first in Maryland’s state senate and later in a public ceremony outside the state house in front of a large crowd.
Governor Moore raised a clenched fist in the air as his wife, Dawn Flythe Moore, his daughter, Mia, and James, his son, beamed with pride. He took the oath of office on a Bible once owned by Frederick Douglass.
Oprah Winfrey, a long-time friend, introduced the new governor. She knew him because she was previously a television talk show host and a news anchor in Baltimore.
Matthew J. Fader, Chief Justice of the Maryland Supreme Court, administered the oath of office, followed by a 19-gun salute and a flyover by jets.
Moore soundly defeated Republican Dan Cox in November’s election. He declared that he would tackle the wealth gap, protect the Chesapeake Bay, fight pollution and have the state generate 100% clean energy by 2035. With respect to education, he pledged to raise standards in all schools and increase inclusivity.
In one inaugural ceremony, Governor Moore took the oath on a copy of the Bhagavad Ghita, one of the holy scriptures of the Hindu faith.
He also laid a wreath at the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial at the City Dock in Annapolis, commemorating enslaved people's arrival in Maryland.
Moore is a bestselling author, a nonprofit CEO, and a combat veteran.
He joins other Black governors, including Oscar Dunn, who served as acting Louisiana governor from November 22, 1871, who served until his death while still in office.
Dunn was succeeded by P.B.S. Pinchback, who served as Louisiana governor from December 9, 1872, to January 13, 1873.
The other and more recent Black governors were L. Doulas Wilder of Virginia, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, and David Paterson of New York.