On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I always reflect on what Dr. King taught us about courage.

Dr. King showed us that silence in the face of injustice is complicity. That's what drove me to become an activist and fight for something bigger than myself. He taught us that when a moment demands courage, we have to meet it — even when it's hard, even when it costs us something.

Right now, we are living in one of those moments.

Donald Trump is doing everything to attack our civil rights and most fundamental freedoms. He recently told The New York Times that civil rights protections resulted in white people being “very badly treated.”

In other words, the same laws that finally began to dismantle centuries of systemic racism — laws that Dr. King gave his life fighting for — are now being reframed as the “real discrimination”. This narrative is coming from a man who has dismantled diversity offices and halted enforcement of the Civil Rights Act.

The same disregard for justice extends to every corner of this administration: An illegal war for oil in Venezuela. Environmental protections destroyed to enrich fossil fuel executives. ICE raids terrorizing communities across the country. It's deeply painful, and it's deliberately overwhelming.

But I’m seeing something else, too.

I see people refusing to look away. Neighbors organizing. Communities protecting one another. Thousands showing up to protest because they understand, as Dr. King said, injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.

I may be 88, but I have no plans of slowing down, John. At JanePAC, we are fighting to elect leaders with backbone — leaders who will protect their communities, stand up to bullies, and carry forward Dr. King’s legacy by confronting injustice rather than accommodating it.

I refuse to watch everything he stood for be erased without doing something about it. His legacy demands that we challenge the status quo, speak out when it’s uncomfortable, and stand up for what’s right — especially now, when authoritarianism is knocking at our door.

The fight for justice, whether it's civil rights, climate justice, or our democracy itself, has always been connected. And it's never been more urgent. I’m grateful to be alive. I’m grateful to be in this work with you.

In solidarity,

Jane Fonda