Events

Moore Launches ‘Lowcountry Listening Tour’ in Beaufort

Published

1 year ago

September 1, 2023

Press Release

Michael B. Moore, a Democrat running for the U.S. House of Representatives in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district, launched his “Lowcountry Listening Tour” in Beaufort last weekend — an opportunity for the first-time citizen candidate to hear from community members, local officials, and more about the issues that matter most to them ahead of the 2024 election.

Appearing at the Gullah Geechee Visitor Center on Saturday, August 26th, Moore met with a wide variety of Beaufort-area leaders, including representatives from the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, the Beaufort County Democratic Party, Families Against Book Banning, the Hilton Head Island chapter of the National Action Network, the Hive Community Circle, the Lowcountry Pride Group, and the Pat Conroy Literary Center.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity I had to sit down with the people of Beaufort and discuss the most pressing issues facing our district,” Moore said. “We share a hopeful vision for the Lowcountry — one where our representatives in Washington enshrine women’s reproductive freedom, enact sensible gun reforms, expand voting rights, ensure affordable health care and housing, invest in public education and literacy opportunities, and foster an economy that works for working families.”

Moore chose to host the first of his campaign’s listening sessions in Beaufort because of the community’s deep historical significance to his family of public servants. Moore’s great-great-grandfather, Civil War hero and Reconstruction-era congressman Robert Smalls, was a Beaufort native born in 1839 on a Prince Street property owned by his enslaver.

In 1862, Smalls famously commandeered a Confederate ship in Charleston harbor, carrying his family and 15 other enslaved people to freedom. For that feat of bravery, Smalls received a congressional reward of $1,500 — which he used to purchase the Beaufort home where he was enslaved in his youth.

Smalls went on to represent Beaufort County in both chambers of South Carolina’s legislature, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives. Moore is now seeking the same House seat that his great-great-grandfather held almost 150 years ago.

“As I’ve said before, my campaign for Congress is all about family,” Moore added. “Since the 1860s, my forbears have been fighting hard battles for future generations. Now, I want to build upon their service for my own four boys — and for working families across our district. Together, I know we can preserve the promise of opportunity across the Lowcountry.”

In the coming weeks, Moore will conduct similar listening sessions in the counties of Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester, and Jasper as he continues to collect feedback from all corners of the Lowcountry.