On January 19, we gather to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. not as a symbol made safe by time, but as a truth-teller whose message still challenges power. Dr. King did not ask America to feel comfortable. He asked America to be honest. Honest about slavery. Honest about segregation. Honest about racism woven into our laws, our institutions, and our economy. And that is why Black history matters—because it tells the truth. Today, that truth is under attack. We are seeing deliberate efforts to narrow how history is taught, to sanitize the story of this nation, and to frame honest discussions of racism as “divisive” or “un-American.” When leaders move to restrict how slavery, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement are taught, they are not protecting America—they are protecting a myth. Dr. King is often reduced to a single line about dreams, while his full message—his opposition to poverty, militarism, and systemic injustice—is pushed aside. But Dr. King warned us about this. He said that shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than outright hostility. We refuse shallow understanding. We refuse a version of history that erases struggle, silences pain, or pretends progress came without sacrifice. Black history is American history. To dismantle one is to weaken us all. So today, we do more than remember Dr. King—we recommit ourselves to his work. We defend the truth. We teach our children honestly. And we stand against any effort, by any leader, to shrink the legacy of Black Americans or to rewrite the past for political comfort. The arc of the moral universe does not bend on its own. We bend it—together. For those who cannot stand out in the cold for extended periods in protest, but would like to join our effort, we are also holding a postcard writing event at Sahara Restaurant, at the same Parkwoods Plaza as the rally. Included are Signs for Justice https://www.signsofjustice.com/products/tmp, and Informed Voters of America https://informedvotersus.org/#postcards