‘A symbol of our progress’: Pennsylvania has sworn in its first Black lieutenant governor

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania has its first Black lieutenant governor.

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, 33, took the oath of office Tuesday in front of the state Senate, where he’ll preside for the next four years. Davis, the state’s 35th lieutenant governor, is now the highest-ranking Black official in the state’s history.

“Today, the son of a union bus driver and a hairdresser, a boy who grew up in a small steel town often overlooked by those in power, a young man driven to his first city council meeting to demand action on gun violence after it reached his neighborhood, is being inaugurated to the second-highest position in our commonwealth,” Davis said in his inaugural speech.

Davis was Shapiro’s handpicked, unofficial running mate from early on in the midterm election cycle. In Pennsylvania, lieutenant governor candidates and gubernatorial candidates run separately from one another in the primary before running together in the general election.

Davis is a Western Pennsylvania native. He hails from McKeesport, a city just outside Pittsburgh that he’s represented in the state House since 2019.

As lieutenant governor, Davis is now tasked with presiding over the state Senate and chairing the state’s Board of Pardons.

In his speech, Davis noted the other Black leaders who helped pave the way for his inauguration: K. Leroy Irvis, the state’s first Black speaker of the House; Robert N.C. Nix Jr., the state’s first Black chief justice of the state Supreme Court; and many activists “whose names may not show up in print but were just as important” to the state’s history.

“They paved the way for this moment,” Davis said. “This moment is a symbol of our progress here in the commonwealth we love, and it is one that I hope serves as a point of pride for millions of Pennsylvanians who have never before seen themselves represented in the halls of power.”

As a young leader himself, Davis said he’s sending a message to the next generation of leaders — especially to Black and brown young people — that Pennsylvania is full of opportunities.

Several faith leaders reflected on the significance of Davis’s inauguration Tuesday.

The Rev. Alyn Waller, senior pastor of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, said in his opening prayer that he was “mindful of the many African American men who still wait for justice and opportunity.”

Davis’ swearing-in as the second-highest executive in the state “reminds us that we’re getting closer to the dream,” Waller added.

State Sen. Vince Hughes (D., Philadelphia) said Davis’ inauguration was a “battery charge” for him. He’s been representing Philadelphia since 1994, and was a state representative during the end of Irvis’ speakership.

“To see that the work over the years that has led to this moment is very powerful,” Hughes added.

He was sworn in alongside his wife, Blayre Holmes Davis, by Allegheny County President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, the first Black woman to serve as president judge of Allegheny County.

Clark challenged Davis to be a servant leader, to be humble, and to be kind.

“You are a shining example. You are hope for all the little boys and girls in Pennsylvania who look like you,” Clark said before administering Davis’ oath of office.

Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.