01/19/2026
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."
-Dr. Martin Luther King- ✌️😎
In the 1960s, peaceful protest was routinely framed as disruptive, and demands for basic civil rights were dismissed as radical. Those in power urged patience instead of change, insisting that the timing was wrong or that progress should be quieter and more convenient.
Dr. King was deeply unpopular while he was alive. He was surveilled by the FBI, labeled divisive and dangerous, and criticized for being too extreme. Again and again, he was told to wait, to calm down, and to stop making people uncomfortable.
That context matters, because the language used to dismiss movements then is the same language being used now. Calls for justice are reframed as disorder. Urgency is treated as recklessness. Discomfort is positioned as the problem, rather than the injustice creating it.
Dr. King understood that freedom has never come from waiting quietly for permission. Progress has always required awareness, courage, and sustained effort — often in the face of fear, exhaustion, and resistance.
That kind of work takes a toll. Care, rest, and grounding are not escapes from reality; they are how people remain present, human, and capable of continuing. If we want to keep showing up thoughtfully, consistently, and with integrity, we have to tend to ourselves as well as the world around us.
Honoring Dr. King means recognizing that cultivating change and cultivating ourselves are not separate acts. They are part of the same practice.
Context note:
The Civil Rights era reshaped more than laws — it also triggered a major political realignment in the United States, as support for civil rights led many segregationist voters to abandon the Democratic Party over the decades that followed.
Community note:
Free America Walkout — organized locally by Hanover for Progress and nationally by The Women’s March.
🗓 Tomorrow, Jan 20
⏰ 2:00 PM
📍 Downtown Hanover square
If you ever need to rest between resisting, you're welcome here!
✌️🖤✊
Studio Hours:
Wed–Sat 10–6 | Sun 10–4
28 Frederick St, Hanover