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Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland hit back against conservative-led attempts to ban books and reshape the curriculum being taught in schools during a commencement speech on Sunday, arguing that such efforts are rooted in "a fear of people understanding their power."
Moore told graduates of Morehouse College, a historically Black men's college in Atlanta, Georgia, that some individuals would seek to minimize or erase their history and called on them to "confront this threat" as they embark on their lives beyond the collegiate gates.
"Life will test you, and when it does, your history will give you the power to meet the challenge," Moore, the third elected Black governor in US history, told the graduates. "Out in the world, people will seek to minimize your history. Out in the world, people will seek to rewrite your history. Out in the world, many people will seek to have you forget your history."
"I look around the country and I see book banning," he continued. "I'm looking around the country right now and I'm seeing people being censored, teachers being censored. I see the curriculum of truth being taken out."
Moore, 44, then told the graduates — who now join the ranks of alumni that includes the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia — that the drive to censor various aspects of history was not being done for their benefit.
"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," he said. "This is not about fear of making people feel bad. This is about fear of people understanding their power."
The governor is seen as rising Democratic star, with many in the party bringing him up as a potential presidential candidate in 2028 and beyond.
Republicans in recent years have pushed to limit what can be taught in classrooms as it relates to the issue of race in US history, with many seeking to conflate discussions about race with critical race theory.
Critical race theorists have examined how the legacy of racism continues to reverberate through laws and policies that exist today. Conservatives have targeted the discipline, alleging that its teachings divide Americans, despite it generally being taught almost exclusively in collegiate settings.
It become a cultural flashpoint in the political sphere, especially for Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is expected to jump into the 2024 Republican presidential primary in the coming days and is certain to highlight his campaign against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives in the state, along with his efforts to restrict how race is discussed in classrooms and his push to reshape the framework of the AP African American History curriculum.
