Daniel Cameron has his name firmly incised as the first African American in Kentucky history to become its attorney general.
A Republican Cameron took the oath of office during a ceremony Tuesday in the attorney general’s office at the state Capitol, The Associated Press reported.
A protégé of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Cameron, 34, also becomes the first Republican in 70 years to serve as the state’s top prosecutor.
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The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Cameron was administered the oath of office by U.S District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, with his mother, Sandra Cameron, holding the Bible for the swearing-in ceremony in his Capitol office and his father, Lavonnie Cameron, looking on.
Cameron defeated Democrat Greg Stumbo to the office in November.
Born on November 22, 1985, Cameron is a former University of Louisville football player.
The son of a professor mother and father who owned a local coffee shop, Cameron grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and attended John Hardin High School and won a prize scholarship named in honor of Senator Mitch McConnell to attend the University of Louisville.
Cameron graduated from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor of Science in 2008, and then from the university’s Brandeis School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2011.
As Kentucky’s 51st attorney general, Cameron observed that his election spoke “a lot about Kentuckians who made the decision to give me an opportunity to serve in this role.”
“All they cared about was what my vision was for this office, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve,” he said.
“I hope it says that people who look like me, that regardless of what your political affiliation is, that not only can you cast your ballot in an election but you also can put your name on that ballot, And you will be judged on your merits, talents, skills rather than the color of your skin.”
Gov. Andy Beshear said Cameron’s “convictions are real”, adding: “Every day you will be able to wake up and fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.”
In a separate but related development regarding faces of black excellence, Rodney Harrison also made history as the first-ever black person to become the New York City Police Department’s chief of detectives.
That is nearly in the organization’s 200-year existence.
Harrison has always had his eyes on becoming the first-ever black person to become Chief of Detectives.
He said: “I’m humbled to become Chief of Detectives, a position I’ve always strived for and will work tirelessly to build the strongest possible cases and bring those that commit crimes to justice.”
Speaking to Pix 11, Harrison who’s a father of three daughters and married to a former NYPD Lieutenant, said growing up he had negative interactions with police officers.
But that changed after joining the NYPD’s cadet program in the early 1990s.
“Once I tried the cadet corps, an internship which helps pay for your college tuition, I saw some of the great work that NYPD does and how they give back,” he said.
