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Gabriel Acevero
Gabriel Acevero (born October 23, 1990) is a Trinidadian–American organizer, activist and politician representing Maryland's 39th House district. On November 6, 2018, Acevero finished in first place with 31% of the vote and became the first openly gay Afro-Latino, and one of the youngest people, elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Acevero is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Acevero was born on October 23, 1990, in San Fernando, Trinidad; the youngest of six children. His paternal family is Afro-Venezuelan and his mother is Afro-Trinidadian.[citation needed] Acevero was raised in the town of Couva and attended Richmond Street Boys Anglican School in the capital, Port-of-Spain. He graduated from Couva Government Secondary School in 2007, where he was a member of the school's debate team.[citation needed] Later that year, his family immigrated to the United States, settling in Maryland. Acevero started college at 16, earning his associate degree in international relations from Montgomery College and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2011 at the age of 20. He was a student activist in college, volunteered for political campaigns, and was active in the Maryland Democratic Party.
After college, Acevero worked as an issue organizer. He was involved in the successful Question 4 (Maryland Dream Act) and Question 6 (Marriage Equality) campaigns in 2012, which resulted in Maryland becoming the first state to approve both measures at the ballot box. Then, in 2014, he worked on transgender equality. In 2015, he was recognized by the National Black Justice Coalition as one of its "100 Black LGBTQ Emerging Leaders to Watch" for his advocacy and efforts to reform Maryland's justice system.
A Black Lives Matter activist, Acevero helped organize and participated in protests during the 2015 Freddie Gray unrest in Baltimore City. Acevero joined the coalition of activists and organizations that pushed for the repeal of Maryland's Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBR) following Freddie Gray's death. Before running for office, he was involved in decarceration efforts in Maryland.
Acevero joined the Maryland Fight for $15 campaign and organized low-wage workers and community groups to support raising the minimum wage in Montgomery County. The County Council overwhelmingly approved the bill, which was signed into law in 2017.
In December 2017, Acevero was one of a group of activists, labor leaders, clergy, and lawmakers arrested on the steps of Capitol Hill for engaging in an unlawful demonstration. The group was hoping to pressure Congress to include legislation for undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children (known as DREAMers).
He was also behind the push that led to renaming a Rockville, Maryland, elementary school in honor of gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. In his testimony before the Montgomery County Board of Education, Acevero criticized the Trump administration's decision to remove LGBTQ people off the US Census and the transgender military ban: "We have a hostile administration that is intent on erasing LGBTQ folks, recently taking us off the Census and banning transgender Americans from serving their country. Now more than ever we need to affirm LGBTQ youth, and that's why Bayard Rustin is such a powerful name for this school". The Montgomery County Board of Education voted to approve changing the school's name to Bayard Rustin Elementary.
Acevero ran in the three-member house district, which includes parts of Gaithersburg, Germantown, Clarksburg, Montgomery Village, and Washington Grove. He won the Democratic primary on June 26, 2018, coming in ahead of three-term incumbent Delegate Kirill Reznik and edging out two-term incumbent Delegate Shane Robinson in the hotly contested primary. He faced minimal Republican opposition in the general and was elected on November 6, 2018, at the age of 28. Acevero was sworn in on a copy of James Baldwin's 1963 book, The Fire Next Time, and assumed office on January 9, 2019. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, the Latino Legislative Caucus, and the Montgomery County Delegation.
Gabriel Acevero
Gabriel Acevero (born October 23, 1990) is a Trinidadian–American organizer, activist and politician representing Maryland's 39th House district. On November 6, 2018, Acevero finished in first place with 31% of the vote and became the first openly gay Afro-Latino, and one of the youngest people, elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Acevero is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Acevero was born on October 23, 1990, in San Fernando, Trinidad; the youngest of six children. His paternal family is Afro-Venezuelan and his mother is Afro-Trinidadian.[citation needed] Acevero was raised in the town of Couva and attended Richmond Street Boys Anglican School in the capital, Port-of-Spain. He graduated from Couva Government Secondary School in 2007, where he was a member of the school's debate team.[citation needed] Later that year, his family immigrated to the United States, settling in Maryland. Acevero started college at 16, earning his associate degree in international relations from Montgomery College and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2011 at the age of 20. He was a student activist in college, volunteered for political campaigns, and was active in the Maryland Democratic Party.
After college, Acevero worked as an issue organizer. He was involved in the successful Question 4 (Maryland Dream Act) and Question 6 (Marriage Equality) campaigns in 2012, which resulted in Maryland becoming the first state to approve both measures at the ballot box. Then, in 2014, he worked on transgender equality. In 2015, he was recognized by the National Black Justice Coalition as one of its "100 Black LGBTQ Emerging Leaders to Watch" for his advocacy and efforts to reform Maryland's justice system.
A Black Lives Matter activist, Acevero helped organize and participated in protests during the 2015 Freddie Gray unrest in Baltimore City. Acevero joined the coalition of activists and organizations that pushed for the repeal of Maryland's Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBR) following Freddie Gray's death. Before running for office, he was involved in decarceration efforts in Maryland.
Acevero joined the Maryland Fight for $15 campaign and organized low-wage workers and community groups to support raising the minimum wage in Montgomery County. The County Council overwhelmingly approved the bill, which was signed into law in 2017.
In December 2017, Acevero was one of a group of activists, labor leaders, clergy, and lawmakers arrested on the steps of Capitol Hill for engaging in an unlawful demonstration. The group was hoping to pressure Congress to include legislation for undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children (known as DREAMers).
He was also behind the push that led to renaming a Rockville, Maryland, elementary school in honor of gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. In his testimony before the Montgomery County Board of Education, Acevero criticized the Trump administration's decision to remove LGBTQ people off the US Census and the transgender military ban: "We have a hostile administration that is intent on erasing LGBTQ folks, recently taking us off the Census and banning transgender Americans from serving their country. Now more than ever we need to affirm LGBTQ youth, and that's why Bayard Rustin is such a powerful name for this school". The Montgomery County Board of Education voted to approve changing the school's name to Bayard Rustin Elementary.
Acevero ran in the three-member house district, which includes parts of Gaithersburg, Germantown, Clarksburg, Montgomery Village, and Washington Grove. He won the Democratic primary on June 26, 2018, coming in ahead of three-term incumbent Delegate Kirill Reznik and edging out two-term incumbent Delegate Shane Robinson in the hotly contested primary. He faced minimal Republican opposition in the general and was elected on November 6, 2018, at the age of 28. Acevero was sworn in on a copy of James Baldwin's 1963 book, The Fire Next Time, and assumed office on January 9, 2019. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, the Latino Legislative Caucus, and the Montgomery County Delegation.
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