Phyllis Dawkins

As part of the 2026 MLK Jr. Beloved Community Awards, I look forward to honoring Viola Davis with the Coretta Scott King Soul of the Nation Award. Her work continues to call us toward truth, dignity, and love in action. thekingcenter.pulse.ly/nazwa… #MLKDay2026 #KingHoliday2026

60 years ago today, with my father looking on, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the #VotingRightsAct of 1965. That critical legislation is in jeopardy today. We must #RestoreTheVRA and ensure that we strengthen the act and our democracy. Call your U..S. Senators and compel them to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act: (202) 224-3121

If I responded angrily and extensively to every person who seeks to provoke anger from me on social media, that would interrupt my peace, purpose and progress. Be a good steward of your energy. It's okay to let provocateurs leave empty handed.

☎️ This is the phone number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard where an operator will connect you directly with the office you request. Let your members of Congress know how you feel and what you expect regarding the policies and practices being proposed and implemented in this nation; about Executive Orders that require Congressional attention; and about President Trump’s comments on Gaza and Palestinians. #WeThePeople #RaiseYourVoice

I don’t deny the power of my father’s most well-known speech, ‘I Have a Dream.’ However, its power and popularity (with focus on its conclusion) have been misused to weaken its clear messaging about ending racism, stopping police brutality, ensuring voting rights, and eradicating economic injustice. Why didn’t Pastor Lorenzo Sewell pray these parts of the Dream during President Trump’s Inauguration? Because the inconvenient truth (that disallows embracing the pipe dream that racism no longer exists in this country) is that Project 2025 and some of the plans that his voters encouraged POTUS to roll out on day one are reflective of an ‘America’ that denies the comprehensive King. That’s why those who quote Daddy out of context and without the spirit of nonviolence don’t pray using my father’s ’The Other America,’ ‘The Three Evils of Society, ‘Beyond Vietnam’…or ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’ It’s simpler to distort the rousing conclusion of #IHaveADream and twist it to push a narrative that authentic, compassionate work to prevent and stop discrimination is actually discriminatory. It is much harder to distort #LetterFromBirminghamJail’s call to conscience to #Christians and its powerfully relevant teaching on nonviolent direct action, injustice anywhere, devotion to order over justice, doing what’s right, and disobeying unjust laws. Who can validate inhumane legislation by integrating prayers about civil disobedience and freedom being demanded by the oppressed, both topics covered in LFBJ? We need to get Daddy’s Dream right, while also realizing that, in his other speeches, sermons, and writings, including LFBJ, he provides the love-centered strategy and courageous path for realizing his Dream. And we haven’t collectively embraced that strategy or started on that path. In fact, several of the Executive Orders rescinded by President Trump this week blatantly disregard both the strategy and the path. So keep praying…but don’t pray the Dream in pursuit of false peace, which cries for unity while decrying inclusive and equitable policies and practices. Pray the Dream in tandem with work for true peace, which, as my father said, is the presence of justice. #MLK #MLKDay #MissionPossibleMLK