Father's Day can be a difficult time for so many of us who have lost our dads, myself included. My love goes out to each and every one of you who shares this pain.

So while it always hurts to feel that stinging loss, this day is also an opportunity for me to look back on the fond memories of my dad and reflect on the lasting lessons he passed on to me.

My dad taught me as a child that there are two ways to go through life — as a thermometer or a thermostat.

A thermometer just reflects the world: if it's hot, it reacts; if it's cold, it reacts, just mimicking the climate. But a thermostat sets the temperature. It doesn't surrender to the environment but changes it, makes it better, improves things for others.

My dad challenged me to not be a thermometer. He challenged me to never surrender to the way things are, but to always work to improve them. He encouraged me to never forget amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life that the power of human kindness can give critical sustenance to life and community.

I think about this lesson often, especially now at this pivotal moment in our country's history.

I think about the family who raised my dad. They were successful small business owners who ran the town's Black funeral home, which like so many other Black-owned small businesses during the time of segregation was a critical source of independent wealth.

I think about how deep-seated structural inequalities and persistent disparities in wealth and access to capital still prevent so many Black Americans from pursuing their dreams of entrepreneurship.

I think about the ways in which systemic racism and the ideologies of white supremacy continue to poison our society and institutions, such as our criminal justice system, and cause irreparable harm.

My father taught me the importance of being a changemaker. It's why I became a public servant, and why in recent years I've introduced legislation to invest in our community-driven programs, give every child in America a "baby bond" to help close the opportunity gap, and most recently, reform our nation's police departments in order to increase transparency and accountability while reducing the escalation that too often results in the tragic loss of Black lives.

I like to think these are ideas that'd make my father proud of the son he raised.

This Father's Day, I will remember my dad — his humor, his kindness, and his wisdom. I will also remember one of the most important lessons he taught me: We cannot simply react or surrender to our environment, we must step up and change it to make it better not only for ourselves, but for others.

Happy Father's Day,

Cory