![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SHF-Reception-for-Maraskeshia-Smith-11.jpg\")
Sacramento city manager Maraskeshia Smith waits to be introduced and speak to a crowd of about 100 people who were there to welcome her to Sacramento. AmaYah Harrison, OBSERVER<\/p>\nThe ballroom at Sierra Health Foundation filled quickly Monday evening as roughly 100 government employees, advocates, nonprofit leaders, clergy members and business executives gathered to welcome Maraskeshia Smith, the first Black woman to serve as Sacramento\u2019s city manager.<\/p>\n
The reception, hosted by Sierra Health Foundation, was celebratory but reverent and long overdue.<\/p>\n
When Smith rose to speak, the room grew still.<\/p>\n
For many in attendance, her appointment signals the possibility that Black Sacramento, a community that leaders say has long been excluded from the full benefits of local government, may finally have consistent access and visibility inside City Hall.<\/p>\n
Chet Hewitt, president and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation, set the tone for the evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been waiting \u2014 waiting for her to show up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hewitt said he has followed Smith\u2019s public remarks closely and was encouraged by her emphasis on compassion, accessibility and championing communities that have been left behind.<\/p>\n
In Sacramento, he noted, homelessness continues to disproportionately affect older Black residents, particularly those over 59. It\u2019s a trend that threatens generational stability in families that often rely on elders as anchors, Hewitt said.<\/p>\n
Hewitt said he is choosing hope over fear in a time of civic uncertainty and division.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sacramento\u2019s city manager oversees roughly 6,000 employees and a $1.6 billion municipal operation. Hewitt described the role as both technical and deeply human, and that Smith \u201chas the big heart to fill it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cassandra Jennings, CEO of St. HOPE, said the optimism in the room was unmistakable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s hope in this room,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cThere\u2019s the community\u2019s love to support her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She acknowledged the magnitude of the job but described Smith\u2019s appointment as a calling.<\/p>\n
Jennings said representation matters \u2014 not symbolically, but practically.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen administrations have people from their community who understand and recognize their community, then they are open to it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe community\u2019s not going to be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Jennings, the most important quality Smith brings is accessibility: \u201cAn open door, a conversation, a discussion, back and forth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll understand because she is a woman that has lived in the same skin that we have,\u201d Jennings added.<\/p>\n
When Smith addressed the crowd, she spoke candidly about being labeled \u201cthe first\u201d throughout her career.<\/p>\n
Sacramento city manager Maraskeshia Smith waits to be introduced and speak to a crowd of about 100 people who were there to welcome her to Sacramento. AmaYah Harrison, OBSERVER<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of headlines about the first Black city manager,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve been the first in every position.\u201d<\/p>\n
She admitted that in previous roles she sometimes felt pressure to mask parts of herself amid national debates about diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this is the first time that I have not masked being the first,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Smith described recently challenging her peers at a conference of city managers, asking what they were doing in their own communities to elevate people who look like her.<\/p>\n
Then she recited lines from Maya Angelou\u2019s \u201cStill I Rise,\u201d a poem she first performed at age 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies,\u201d she said. \u201cBut still, I rise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd today, I realized those were not words. They were instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said she felt the city\u2019s prayers when she first arrived and described the welcome as overwhelming.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was not on my bingo card,\u201d she said, drawing soft laughter from the crowd.<\/p>\n
Still, she was clear-eyed about what lies ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s not going to be easy,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m going to need everybody in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
She spoke of mountains to climb and hard days to come, recalling moments in her first 30 days when the weight of the job felt heavy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect to be brave here in the city,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I cannot do it by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was focus and collective attentiveness in the room that signaled how seriously the community is taking this moment.<\/p>\n
For Black Sacramento, the appointment of its first Black city manager is not viewed as an endpoint. It is seen as an opening and a chance to be heard, to be included and to help shape the direction of a city that has not always extended its full promise to all of its residents.<\/p>\n
As Smith closed by thanking the room for its \u201cwonderful welcome,\u201d the applause felt less like celebration alone and more like commitment.<\/p>\n
The expectations are high. The challenges are real.<\/p>\n
But in that room Monday night, hope was louder than doubt.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ballroom at Sierra Health Foundation filled quickly Monday evening as roughly 100 government employees, advocates, nonprofit leaders,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[912,37987,121,123,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-207577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-carousel","9":"tag-maraskeshia-smith","10":"tag-sacramento","11":"tag-sacramento-headlines","12":"tag-sacramento-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}