At the federal level, we are witnessing an alarming unraveling. Democratic norms are being eroded. Voting rights are under assault. Truth is routinely distorted. The dignity of immigrants, working families, Black communities, and marginalized people is treated as expendable. Dr. King cautioned us about moments like this when he said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” He did not say it would be easy. He did not say it would be popular. He said it would be necessary.
Dr. King also reminded us that “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” As federal priorities drift further from moral clarity, states like Massachusetts are no longer insulated observers we are moral actors. Silence, neutrality, or delay is itself a choice.
Our communities are watching. Young people are watching. History is watching.
Dr. King understood that the greatest danger was not loud hatred alone, but quiet indifference. He warned that “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” That warning echoes loudly today.
We honor Dr. King not by invoking his name, but by refusing to betray his legacy. His work was unfinished because justice is unfinished. Democracy is unfinished.
And the struggle for dignity—for all people—remains unfinished.
In Service,
