Maryland Gov. Wes Moore delivers keynote commencement speech at historic Morehouse College

BALTIMORE – Maryland Gov. Wes Moore addressed the 2023 graduating class of historic Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday morning.

Gov. Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, was the keynote speaker at Morehouse College’s commencement ceremony.

Morehouse College is a private Historically Black College and University in Atlanta.

Gov. Moore spoke in front of more than 400 graduates, alumni, faculty and guests, 

He spoke about how “knowledge of history leads to knowledge of one’s own power.”

The governor also focused on the power of history to inspire strength and instill wisdom – and warned the graduating class to guard against those who seek to erase history. 

“Men of Morehouse: I stand before you as the first Black governor of my state and only the third Black governor ever elected in our nation’s history with a simple message: Our history is our power! I have come to tell you that you must hold this history close – because life will test you, and when it does, your history will give you the power to meet the challenge,” Gov. Moore said. “When politicians ban books and muzzle educators, they say it’s an effort to prevent ‘discomfort and guilt’ – but we know that’s not true. This is not about fear of making people feel bad. This is about fear of people understanding their power. This is about fear of you realizing that you come from a long line of titans – and visionaries – and dreamers – and pioneers – people who defied the odds and helped build this nation with their hands, their hearts, and their minds.”

During commencement, Governor Moore received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the college.