John,

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time to recognize and carry forward the civil rights leader’s legacy of justice, peace, and liberation.

In 1967, MLK condemned the Vietnam War and called for a ceasefire at an event with the interfaith anti-war group Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam.

Today marks 100 days of genocide against Palestinians. Last week, Rabbis for Ceasefire protested at the United Nations, joining Americans across ethnic and racial backgrounds rising up for a ceasefire.

This multi-racial movement for peace is building on Martin Luther King Jr.’s anti-war legacy.

Grassroots groups like We the People Michigan are leading the way, advocating for a ceasefire alongside long-term work to build a more just society where all people live with dignity—akin to what MLK called “Beloved Community.”

We the People Michigan envisions a state where all our neighbors have their basic needs met, meaning every resident will have access to clean water, clean air, good food, and affordable housing.

They’re building the multi-racial democracy that we deserve, empowering communities to determine their own future together and forging alliances for racial justice, housing justice, immigration justice, economic justice, and more.

Please donate to We the People Michigan today to support their crucial work for a multi-racial democracy and for the dignity of all people.

Martin Luther King Jr. named racism, poverty, and militarism as three interconnected evils. We can see those intersections so clearly now.

Last month, Congress passed our country’s largest-ever military budget: $886 billion for war and destruction. Meanwhile, our neighbors are still struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their heads, as wealth inequality soars.

Our federal government is complicit in atrocities rooted in racist dehumanization, sending bombs and billions of our tax dollars abroad while neglecting the needs of our struggling communities at home.

In his April 1967 speech, MLK said: “a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

We must divest from endless war and death. My district’s residents sent me to Congress to invest in life.

Every day I’m inspired by my neighbors who are fighting for our shared humanity and who understand that no human being is disposable.

As We the People Michigan explains: “We reject narratives that pit us against one another and divide us… We believe that we are most powerful when we work together.”

Please chip in today to support the life-affirming work of We the People Michigan, which is building multi-racial power for a Michigan that honors the dignity of all people.

Together, we can create a more just future where all of us thrive.

“We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now,” said MLK in April 1967. “Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world.”

Onward together in solidarity,

Rashida