By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
The Maryland Democratic Party condemned a derogatory comment made by Ali Rak, Maryland state director for the State Freedom Caucus Network, on Aug. 21.
At the ceremonial demolition of the Pimlico Race Course on Aug. 21, Gov. Wes Moore (D) directed a bold message to the 47th president after he described Baltimore as “so far gone” in regard to crime, despite the city’s recent historic lows.
“If you are not willing to be part of the solution, keep our names out of your mouth,” Moore said. “Specifically, Donald Trump, if you are not willing to walk our communities, keep our name out of your mouth.”
In response to a post about Moore’s remarks, Rak referred to him as a “ghetto governor” in a post via X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Ghetto Governor Moore standing in front of a racetrack so unprofitable it had to be bailed out by $400 million of state funds to rebuild,” said Rak.
Maryland Democratic Party Chair Steuart Pittman quickly issued a statement condemning the remark.
“The State Director of the Maryland Freedom Caucus resorted to racist name calling when she went online to call America’s only sitting Black governor ‘ghetto governor,’” said Pittman. “This is disgusting and unacceptable, and any spin or ‘whataboutism’ should be rejected by the press and anyone with common sense.”
“Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion have emboldened people to use racist language without fear of consequence,” Pittman added. “Hateful speech must be met with condemnation. Republicans and the Maryland Freedom Caucus must disavow this and hold their leadership accountable or we can only assume that racism is the official position of the Maryland Freedom Caucus.”
The AFRO reached out to the governor’s office for comment. David Turner, director of communications, responded on Moore’s behalf.
“The governor doesn’t spend his time monitoring social media accounts of political trolls–he is too busy working alongside his partners to deliver historic drops in crime in Baltimore and grow Maryland’s economy,” Turner said.
Despite calls from the Maryland Democratic Party to disavow Rak’s language, the Maryland Freedom Caucus shared the post on its social media platform on X.
The AFRO reached out to the Maryland Freedom Caucus for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Great Job Tashi McQueen AFRO Staff Writer & the Team @ AFRO American Newspapers Source link for sharing this story.
