On this day in history in 1963, our nation came together to March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The spokesman was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., theologian, scholar, author, civil rights icon, and hope practitioner. His seminal speech given, I Have a Dream, is still the most recited and number one speech according to American Rhetoric. It pricked the heart of a nation which struggled to utilize every matrix and component to communicate, build consensus, resolve conflict, and make the critical decisions to uplift truly every sisterhood and brotherhood.  

We are instructed by the late Congressman John Lewis and one of the speakers on that day, to “Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover universal truth, and follow its dictates. Know that the truth always leads to love and the perpetuation of peace...Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won.” Those fervent and accurate statements lead us to better tomorrows. They lead us to become a force for greater good. They lead us to what Rev. James Lawson calls “a social and political ecospace to contribute.” They lead us to change radically from where we have been to rise to our most noble selves. They lead us to channels of understanding.  

Every day I rise, I am moved by the people of Central Arkansas knowing we are on a journey together. We are on a journey to reckon with and defy racism gerrymandering, poverty, educator shortages and low pay. We are on a journey to confront perils in the spirit of grace and with a spirit of strength and hope. We are on a journey to walk in new winds, build new bridges, travel to new lands, swim through new waters, and lead a new charge.  We are expected to listen to the sound of Our Striving as expressed by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois in the Souls of Black Folk. We are on a journey to tackle challenges and conditions of our time.

The Second Congressional District, this is our time to determine the value of democracy.

The Second Congressional District, this is our time to promote the progression of all races, all colors, all creeds, all national origins, and all faiths amid adversity and land on our feet and have accessions.

The Second Congressional District, this are our time to operate as a collective and not compromise on conviction.

The Second Congressional District, this is our time to make the district over again, establish a new order, and to believe in the power of our possibilities. 

The Second Congressional District, this is our time to push humanity to a higher plane.

The Second Congressional District, this is our time to navigate our lives and not let demagoguery steer our ship.

The Second Congressional District. This. Is. Our.Time.

Therefore, we must say in the ethos of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Let freedom ring. Let freedom ring in the Ouachita Mountains and National Forest of Central Arkansas and Perry County. Let it ring through the rocky land of Van Buren County and the foothills of Conway County. Let freedom ring over the highways and byways of the Big Rock Interchange. Let it ring over the urban development of Faulkner, Saline, and Pulaski counties. Let freedom ring in the corn fields of the Conway. Let freedom ring over the pristine waterways of Heber Springs in Cleburne County. Let it ring over the Sunshine Acres Ranch and piney woods of White County. Let freedom ring over the rich prairies and farmland of the Arkansas Alluvial Plain.”

To the people of Central Arkansas and the readers of this newsletter, I ask that we roll up our sleeves, broaden the electorate, have historic voter registration and turnout this Midterm Election. Together, let’s take Central Arkansas Onward, Forward, Upward, and Outward and Make Hathaway the New Way!