Representative Gabriel Acevero Contact information

Gabriel Acevero was born on October 23, 1990, in San Fernando, Trinidad. He is the youngest of six children to Ingrid (née Renn), a government employee and labor activist, and Michael Acevero, an insurance agent. His paternal family are Afro-Venezuelan and his mother is Afro-Trinidadian. 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 excelled on the school’s debate team and his family immigrated to the United States later that year, 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.

Acevero worked as an issue organizer after college, first on the successful Question 4 (Maryland Dream Act) and Question 6 (Marriage Equality) campaigns in 2012—Maryland became the first state to approve both measures at the ballot box—and then in 2014 on transgender equality. 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 in 2015.

A Black Lives Matter activist, Acevero helped organize and was involved in protests during the 2015 Freddie Gray unrest in Baltimore City. Acevero joined the coalition of activists and organizations that advocated for the repeal of Maryland’s Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBR) following Freddie Gray’s death.

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.

Currently, Acevero is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 39th district. He assumed office on January 9, 2019. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee, the public safety & administration subcommittee, and the oversight committee on pensions. He is also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, the Maryland Legislative Transit Caucus, and the Maryland Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus. He is the Vice-Chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus.