Watch Now: Maryland Governor Wes Moore Shares Insights On Building A Future Rooted in Work, Wages, And Wealth At AFROTECH™ 2024

No matter who occupies the White House, Maryland Governor Wes Moore remains steadfast in his commitment to three core pillars for his state’s 6.2 million residents: work, wages, and wealth — and creating pathways for all three.

At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024, Moore — Maryland’s 63rd and first Black governor — joined Blavity Inc. Co-Founder and COO Jeff Nelson for a powerful fireside chat focused on economic empowerment, youth engagement, public safety, and sustainable community development.

The governor shared insights on building resilient, self-sufficient communities, equipping the conference room of innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers with tangible steps to create a lasting impact.

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Reflecting on his personal journey into public service, Moore shared that he didn’t come from a political dynasty — far from it. Now, he says he sees the world in two categories: Marylanders and future Marylanders.

“I had to convince members of my family to vote for me when I told ’em I was running for governor,” Moore said, pointing to his unconventional path to leadership.

“The thing that I knew, though, was that the people who always inspired me, they were the ones who moved with a sense of urgency in the work that they had, the people who just understood that there was this impermanence about everything that we’re doing,” he added while on stage at AFROTECH™ Conference.

Nelson highlighted that Maryland is uniquely positioned as a place to build and innovate, asking what in the state’s DNA makes it so attractive to entrepreneurs.

“When you think about just the history of Maryland, Maryland is literally the birthplace of so much innovation and so many innovators, people who just move culture. I mean, you’re talking about everyone from Thurgood Marshall to Billie Holiday to Frederick Douglass, to literally from our nation’s origins,” Moore replied. “Maryland has been home to the bold and Maryland has been home to the unafraid. Then I think about, especially when it comes to these industries that we have here, that Maryland really is the ecosystem, and it was our job to make sure we were leveraging all the various ecosystems that we have here.”

Moore praised Maryland as a national leader in technology and cybersecurity, adding that it has been named the top state for minority business enterprises (MBEs) and Black-owned businesses.

“That doesn’t happen by accident,” Moore said. “It’s because we have the assets in our state.”

He continued, “We are going to invest in them as a state, and it’s because of those things that we’re going to win as a state as well.”

Before becoming governor, Moore worked in education technology and understood firsthand the challenges of building a tech business in Maryland. Speaking directly to the AFROTECH™ population of entrepreneurs and founders — many of whom face barriers to accessing capital, support, and startup resources — he emphasized his administration’s commitment to making Maryland more business-friendly, specifically for Black people, women, and veteran founders.

“We want to make sure that it is our entrepreneurs of color and our Black entrepreneurs that are receiving specific supports because part of the idea and part of the growth mechanism that we have for those industries is those industries need to do a better job of looking like this country,” Moore said.

Looking toward a second term and intent on cementing his legacy, Moore quoted late New York rapper Notorious B.I.G. — “If I said it, I meant it” — and outlined achievements such as expanding the child tax credit, raising the minimum wage, reforms to dismantle systemic barriers, and launching the ENOUGH Act, a statewide initiative to end child poverty through targeted place-based investment.

With the conference held shortly after the Nov. 5, 2024, election, Moore shared plans to find common ground with the incoming Trump-Vance administration, following a strong relationship with the Biden-Harris administration. He emphasized four guiding principles: delivering for the people of Maryland, defending both the U.S. and Maryland constitutions and laws, promoting inclusive economic growth, and uplifting and restoring trust in public service and public institutions.

As he works to reduce the wealth gap amid growing attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Moore made clear he remains unapologetically Black and firmly committed to championing DEI — urging corporations not to shy away from it if they want to win.

“…Every single shred of evidence shows that corporations, entities that actually value diversity, that actually value differing opinions, that actually value differing backgrounds, they win. And so I’ve always found this attack on diversity, first of all, ironically, oftentimes coming from people who are deeply unqualified and insecure, but this idea… that somehow this is hurting productivity is asinine, and there’s no data to reinforce the argument.”

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