This week in history, Black women from across the country gathered in Boston for the First National Conference of Colored Women in 1895. Laying the groundwork for what would become the National Association of Colored Women.

You can't always fix this world's chaos. But you can stop it from destroying you. Krishna Das breaks down how to stay engaged with a chaotic world without letting it consume you.

#OTD In 1917, nearly 10,000 Black men, women, and children marched silently down Fifth Avenue in New York to protest lynching, racial violence, and the East St. Louis massacre. They carried signs that read "Mr. President, why not make America safe for democracy?"

A voteless people is a powerless people. My father said that because he understood that every other right depends on the right to vote. That is why we march. That is why we organize. And that is why we will never stop fighting to protect it.

On August 28, the 63rd anniversary of my father's "I Have a Dream" speech, we are marching again. Alongside a coalition of civil rights and labor leaders, we are coming together for the March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote. Join us in Washington. thegrio.com/2026/07/15/m...

Civil rights leaders announce new March on Washington to defend voting rights on anniversary of Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech

March on Washington 2026 Defend the Vote: Civil rights leaders will march August 28 over the Voting Rights Act ruling.

thegrio.com

John Lewis said, "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime." Let’s heed his words.

Watching Yolanda step into her own voice on voting rights makes me so proud. She's also right: we cannot keep missing opportunities to protect the vote. My father taught us that the ballot is stronger than the bullet. Yolanda's generation is ready to prove it.

Southern Black leaders warn their power is on the line — and Democrats are looking elsewhere

Black lawmakers and activists in the Deep South say they are fighting an existential crisis on their own in the wake of a major Supreme Court ruling.

politico.com

Last week we celebrated #International NelsonMandelaDay. He once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" I was fortunate to witness his inauguration in 1994, one of the greatest experiences of my life. His words ring as true today as they did then.

Defending voting rights and building civic power takes a coalition. Proud to stand alongside @mifamiliavota.bsky.social as we continue to strengthen the Black-Brown partnership our communities need now more than ever.

This week In 1965, my father spoke at @syracuseu.bsky.social, just months after the marches in Selma and weeks before the Voting Rights Act was signed. He called out segregated schools in the North and spoke of the importance of nonviolence as a tool to end segregation.

Six years ago today, we lost two giants on the same day: Rep. John Lewis & Rev. C.T. Vivian. Both spent their lives fighting for voting rights, marching alongside my Dad & understanding that democracy is not given, it is fought for. Today, the Voting Rights Act they helped secure is under assault.

84% of educators in Realize the Dream felt more connected to a supportive community of educators. Connection fuels service. Service fuels change. #100FOR100

Sixty-three years after my father stood at the Lincoln Memorial and shared his Dream, we are called to march again. On August 28, I will join Al Sharpton, NAN and a coalition of civil rights and labor leaders for the March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote. www.reuters.com/world/us/civ...

Civil rights leaders announce 'March on Washington' to defend voting rights

Civil rights leaders ​have announced plans for a Washington march next month to defend voting rights, saying recent court decisions have ‌weakened key federal protections against racial discrimination...

reuters.com

13 years ago this week three Black women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Ayo Tometi, turned grief into a rallying cry. #BlackLivesMatter grew from a hashtag into a global movement for racial justice. 13 years later, the urgency has not faded.

Every gift strengthens the work of DMI. From civic engagement to building power in Black and Brown communities, your support turns vision into action. secure.qgiv.com/for/dmii/

A 26-year-old father was shot and killed by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine this week while his wife and young daughter were nearby. He was not the person they were looking for. Witnesses say he tried to stop. apnews.com/article/ice-...

ICE officer who fatally shot driver in Maine was 'fearing for public safety,' agency says

Sen. Angus King says the motorist killed by ICE officers in a Maine shooting was not the target of the warrant the officers were executing.

apnews.com

My father said injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane form of inequality. Health care should not depend on your ZIP code, your insurance plan, or your income. Obesity is a chronic disease & access to treatment is a matter of equity. www.newsweek.com/mlk-iii-heal...

MLK III: Health equity must include obesity care | Opinion

Medicaid exists because access to care should not depend on wealth. Excluding obesity treatment undermines that mission.

newsweek.com

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo spent over 30 years working, raising his family, and building a life in America. He was killed by ICE agents in Houston during an operation in which he was not even the target. www.cnn.com/2026/07/10/u...

Houston officials call out lack of federal collaboration after fatal ICE shooting | CNN

Days after a federal immigration agent fatally shot a Houston man, frustration is growing among local officials who say federal agencies are resisting collaboration on the investigation into the conte...

cnn.com

My father understood that justice was not only about laws but also about the well-being of communities. #NationalMinorityMentalHealthAwareness Month shines a light on that. Breaking the stigma starts with honest conversations. Every community deserves access to healthcare.

Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI)@chdi.org · 4w ago

July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, so we're highlighting CT organizations serving BIPOC children & families and their work challenging inequity in behavioral health systems! #BIPOCMentalHealth

Most Americans believe civil liberties like the right to vote are under threat, according to a new AP-NORC poll. Freedom has never protected itself. It takes people willing to stand up and defend it.

Most Americans see freedoms under threat but core to nation's identity, AP-NORC poll finds | The Associated Press

Most Americans believe civil liberties like the right to vote are under threat, according to a new AP-NORC poll, while also continuing to agree that the rights expressed in the nation’s founding docum...

ap.org

#OTD In 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing equal protection and citizenship to every person born on American soil. Last week, the Supreme Court stood by that promise. The Statue of Liberty continues her call to the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Happy 91st birthday to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, born #OTD in 1935. His lifelong commitment to nonviolence, compassion, and peace has inspired millions around the world, including our family. We are grateful for his light and his example.

My father talked about the Beloved Community not as a destination but as a practice. It meant showing up across lines of difference, doing the unglamorous work of listening, and believing that people can change. That's still what it means. And it still requires all of us.

My mother said, "Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation." That truth sits with me every day. The work is never done, and each generation has to choose to carry it forward.

Today, America turns 250. In 1852, Frederick Douglass stood before a crowd celebrating independence and asked "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?" He celebrated the ideals of the Declaration while exposing the contradiction of a nation built on freedom and slavery at the same time.

#OTD In 1964, Lester Maddox and a group of white supremacists armed with ax handles turned away three Black activists who sought to eat at his Atlanta restaurant, just two days after the Civil Rights Act was signed. Maddox later became Governor of Georgia.

#OTD In 1964, LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act into law, one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in American history. It didn't come from goodwill alone. It came from years of organizing, sacrifice & ordinary people refusing to accept injustice. That is how change has always been made.

Happy Birthday to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, born #OTD in 1908. Justice Marshall proved that the law could be a tool for justice, not just a shield for the powerful.

#OTD In 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing every American 18 and older the right to vote.

#OTD In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded to fight for full equality for women in every area of American life. My father knew that liberation is indivisible. No one is free until we all are.