I’ve always seen the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as an opportunity not only to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, but also to remind folks about who he actually was.

We know him as a spiritual and moral leader, scholar and thought leader, and early architect of the Civil Rights Movement, yet too often — and especially in January — his legacy is reduced to that of a peaceful protester with a dream.

Over the past few days, we’ve witnessed many of my colleagues across the aisle weaponize and cherry-pick excerpts from “I Have A Dream” to justify legislated white supremacy. When the whole truth is Dr. King was a proud and unapologetic Black man, a prophetic preacher and radical dreamer with a bold vision and desire for revolutionary change. He was a force who challenged systemic injustice at every turn.

When I reflect on the true essence of his legacy, I’m reminded of his call to dismantle the three evils — poverty, racism and militarism — that Dr. King worked actively to disrupt. These three evils are daily more entrenched, and I know that if he were alive today, he would be calling for a lasting ceasefire in Israel and Gaza to save lives, return all hostages, and deliver the humanitarian aid that people in the region desperately need.

When I reflect on the true essence of his legacy, I also remember Coretta, and the role she played as a devoted wife, trusted confidant, advisor, effective strategist and activist in her own right.

She challenged the consciousness of the nation and those in elected positions when she said, “I must remind you that starving a child is violence. Neglecting school children is violence. Punishing a mother and her family is violence. Discrimination against a working man is violence. Ghetto housing is violence. Ignoring medical need is violence.”

Her words guide and embolden me in my legislative work, as every single hardship and social ill that she cited is a policy or budget choice, a violent choice.

And when I reflect on the true essence of his legacy, I am faced with the devastating reminder that there are members of Congress right now who are actively working to dismantle the gains that Dr. King worked to achieve. Proposing and passing laws to roll back voting rights, dismantle equity in education, ban books, and so much more.

Policy is my love language because if hurt and harm can be legislated, we can and we must legislate healing, equity and justice.

That’s why we must reject the white-washed, sanitized version of Dr. King, conveniently portrayed by some, and embrace the radical truth of what Dr. King envisioned for America — a collective awakening and a commitment to dismantling oppressive systems.

This weekend, we recommit ourselves to confronting the unjust status quo head-on, to remaining vigilant and relentless in our pursuit of justice, and to shaking the foundations of discrimination and injustice that this country was built on.

I believe fiercely in the transcendent impact of what we can achieve together. And I’m grateful as always to have you as a partner in this work.

In solidarity,

Ayanna