Friend,

This morning, I sat with my family at our kitchen table in Silver Spring, Maryland, less than 25 miles from where my great-grandfather, Charles King, and his family were enslaved in Gaithersburg. My ancestors could have never imagined that in just three generations, I would serve as U.S. Secretary of Education under the first Black president. 

We have always been a family of firsts. In 1894, my grandmother was one of the earliest graduates of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. After that, my uncle was a Tuskegee Airman, one of the first Black combat pilots in the Army. A few years later, my Uncle Dolly was one of our country’s first Black basketball players to integrate into the professional league, and my father served as New York City’s first Black deputy superintendent. 

Because my ancestors lived for a future they could not see and public schools provided generations of my family with the support to succeed, my daughters and I are here today and thriving. 

My family’s story is one of inequality and progress, just like the history of our state. My family background and the role public schools played in my life when both of my parents passed away inspired me to work to better not just my life, but the lives of those around me. That’s why I am running to be the first Black governor of Maryland — so I can fight for those who have too often been ignored, and to ensure a more equitable and just future for all of us. Will you join me today?

I am ready to get to work, but I need grassroots support from people like you, friend.

Thank you for your continued support,

John King