August 28 is a day when we commemorate both triumph and loss.
On this day in 1955, a 14-year-old Emmett Till was ripped away from his family’s home, beaten, and lynched based on a story that proved to be false. His mother Mamie’s decision to leave his casket open at his funeral forced many Americans to see the absolute brutality of the Jim Crow south for the first time.
On this day in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., shared his dream of an America that valued all of its people and where equal talent received equal pay. His clarion call, delivered in front of a quarter-million people at the historic March on Washington galvanized millions and helped bend the arc of the moral universe just a bit closer toward justice.
And this year, we take time to celebrate the life of Aretha Franklin—the Queen of Soul—who championed equality and uplifted lives not only through her unmatched talent, but also through her personal activism away from the stage. You can share your thoughts on her legacy by signing this card.
Today, I’ll be taking some time to reflect on the indelible marks Emmett Till, Dr. King, and Aretha Franklin left on our nation. They each, in their own way, held up a mirror to America and challenged us all to be better.
Let us all recommit to taking a stand for justice, for equality, and for inclusion.