Friend,

Nearly 50 years ago, hatred and violence claimed the life of one of the greatest icons of justice and equality our country has ever known – a man who advanced civil rights and fought to eradicate economic inequity. His work and his words continue to inspire generations of Americans. Looking back on Dr. King's work fills me with hope in the darkest of times.  

Dr. King believed that democracy and equality will win. Because we the people who believe in equal justice under the law will not be intimidated. That's a lesson we sorely need to take solace in right now. 

In his lifetime he fought against some of the ugliest, most brutal attacks in our history. He fought through prison and he fought through mental and physical anguish. But because he fought, because he went toe-to-toe with the same sort of violence we've seen plaguing our nation recently, progress was realized. "The arc of the moral universe is long," Dr. King famously said, "but it bends toward justice."

Friend, I am a descendant of slaves, who knew that they would not make it, but dreamed and prayed that one day I would make it. I grew up poor. I was called names. I saw the very racism that existed well before Dr. King's time and which has persisted well after. But my faith – in spite of America's complicated history – lies in the Constitution, in our rule of law.

There's hope, friend: We have the greatest opportunity, right here and right now, to push through an agenda that will truly reckon with systemic racism.

I know that's what I'll be fighting for every day in Congress, alongside the Biden administration, in nearly every piece of legislation that comes across my desk. Health care. Gun safety. The environment. Voting rights. Housing. We must address racism everywhere. 

So with plenty of dark days in our rearview mirror, today, in honor of Dr. King, I'm choosing hope. I'm choosing to reap what I sow and use the levers of our democracy to induce the change we so urgently need. I know you'll be fighting alongside me, in whatever way you can.

Thank you, and may God bless you.

Congresswoman Val Demings