Friends, as we honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I want to take a moment to share how his work and message have shaped my life and my family.
My father, Warren, grew up surrounded by steep injustices in American society: Children denied education. Americans denied the right to vote. An entire race told they were less than, and treated as such, because of the color of their skin.
While he was studying at Berkeley, a friend mailed him some cassette tapes — recordings of a minister in the Deep South who was fighting these injustices.
He always said that the sermons were unlike anything he had heard before. He listened as a deep, resonant voice preached about a more just society — and everyday people changing the world.
That minister was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and those tapes compelled my dad to purchase a train ticket to the South to join his cause, marching for voting rights in Selma, Alabama.
As I grew up, my dad taught me the same lessons he learned from Dr. King, and from a lifetime spent fighting injustice.
He and my mom, who spent much of her life fighting for democracy and freedom in her home country of the Philippines, taught me that not only can everyday people change the world — we must.
In these tumultuous times, I've wondered how Dr. King would respond to today's injustices if he were still alive.
In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," he wrote: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
Those words are just as relevant today as they were when he wrote them so eloquently decades ago. They apply to everyone, regardless of race, creed, gender, or religion.
Nearly 60 years after Dr. King's death, our nation is so divided. We know that his dream is not yet realized.
Throughout my career in public service, I'm proud that we've taken steps to change our laws — to create more accountability in our institutions, to rid them of racial discrimination. But we know not all change comes from courts, or even from the legislature.
It is people — people lifting their voices in peaceful protest, speaking out against injustice, cruelty, and corruption — who drive us toward greater justice. Toward the society we need and deserve.
Across history, people power has always been the most potent and the most transformative power there is. That's been true in the civil rights movement, in the farm worker movement, and in the restoration of democracy in countries around the world. It will be true today, too.
Dr. King taught us to use our people power to fight boldly for equality and dignity for all — and that righteous fight is one we must continue, together.
He believed that progress is not inevitable: it is built by everyday people, guided by conscience and willing to act.
That belief shaped my family. It has shaped my life in public service. And it must continue to shape our country.
On this day, and in the work ahead, may we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., not only in memory, but in action — choosing justice, humanity, and our shared responsibility to one another.
Sincerely,
Rob Bonta
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