Dear friend,

Sixty-one years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of our state capitol and spoke to 10,000 Kentuckians demanding justice. That movement helped pass the 1966 Kentucky Civil Rights Act, which Dr. King called "the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a Southern state."

As the son of parents who were born in and lived through Jim Crow, and the first Black chair of a major political party in the history of our Commonwealth, I think about that legacy often. The people who marched in 1964 showed up, spoke out, and changed our state for the better.

This past year has been hard. Division and hate spewed from the highest levels have tested us. But Dr. King's example reminds me that standing up for what's right is the job. And when we're intentional about that work, we can move mountains.

This year, I'm asking you to find one way to get involved. Volunteer, show up at a local meeting, have a conversation with a neighbor about what matters. It is always the right time to stand up and do the right thing and every small act adds up to extraordinary change.

Dr. King believed ordinary people could do extraordinary things when they worked together. I believe that too.