Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at a news conference at City Hall, on May 1, 2015 in Baltimore. (AP File Photo)
(CNSNews.com) - Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, criticized for giving people too much space to protest during the recent rioting in her city, has an additional job: On Monday, she was sworn in as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a group that influences national urban policy.
"She's been elected by her peers," said USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran. "It's one of the highest honors you can have as a mayor. For one year, she's America's mayor. It's a very powerful position."
As conference president, Rawlings-Blake, a Democrat, will set the organization's agenda, appoint committee and task force chairs and serve as the national spokesperson for the one-year term that runs through June 2016.
"At a time when women, and African-American women especially, still face many challenges, the honor of being a female president of this organization and the first African-American female president is not lost on me," Rawlings-Blake said in her inaugural speech.
She talked about the problems in her own city, including the rioting and looting that erupted two months ago after a black man, Freddie Gray, died in police custody:
"I can't tell you the heartbreak, seeing my city descend into that type of violence and unrest," Rawlings-Blake said. "To see the pain of the Gray family at the loss of their loved one, as well as the outrage of the community. To see some destroy their neighborhoods. To see others throw bricks and rocks at our first responders. To see businesses looted. To see the |National Guard marching down the streets with automatic assault rifles. To see anyone harmed throughout that vey long two weeks.
"I pray that you and your cities never have to go through it. But prayer won't be enough...Don't think it can't happen in any of your cities," she told her fellow mayors.
Via: CNS News
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