Special to The Dallas Examiner
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have A Dream speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, he painted a picture of an America where “justice rolls down like waters” and “righteousness like a mighty stream.” He understood that the right to vote was the cornerstone of every other civil right we hold dear. Without the power to effectively choose our leaders and shape our laws, all other freedoms remain vulnerable and subject to the whims of those in power rather than the will of the people.
Decades later, we are still fighting that same battle.
In our own state, the gerrymandering of districts like TX-33 represents a direct assault on the multiracial democracy King envisioned. When Black and Brown communities are intentionally fractured and our votes diluted, we lose more than representation in Congress. We lose the ability to advocate effectively for our schools, our healthcare, our economic opportunities and our futures. We lose the power to hold our representatives accountable and demand the change our communities need.
Let me be clear: the district I’m running in shouldn’t exist in its current form. It was drawn by Donald Trump not to give communities a voice, but to silence them.
When politicians carve up communities of color, splitting neighborhoods down the middle and diluting our voting power through calculated redistricting schemes, they’re engaging in the same kind of disenfranchisement that King spent his life combatting. The tactics have evolved from poll taxes and literacy tests, but the intent remains the same: to prevent Black and Brown voices from having equal say in our democracy.
This fight is deeply personal for me.
I wouldn’t be here without the work of civil rights leaders like King. He and countless others who marched, organized and sacrificed everything inspired me to pursue public service and civil rights law. Their courage showed me that meaningful change is possible when we refuse to accept injustice.
That understanding has fundamentally shaped my life’s work. I became a voting rights attorney because I watched as the hard-won victories of the civil rights movement came under new attacks. I worked in our community registering voters because I witnessed firsthand how people were being discouraged from going to the polls and turned away from exercising their most fundamental constitutional right.
As I reflect on King’s legacy and trace my own journey from NFL player to voting rights lawyer to public servant, I am struck by how fragile our progress remains. Rights that took decades of struggle to win can be stripped away by the stroke of a pen on a map.
But I’m also reminded of King’s enduring words, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
That arc doesn’t bend on its own. It bends because people push it.
Upholding King’s work matters now more than ever, with our civil and voting rights under direct attack. In Texas, our congressional maps have been intentionally redrawn by Trump to dilute our voices and undermine the democratic promise that every American deserves an equal say in their government. This isn’t just partisan politics. It’s a fundamental assault on the principles our nation was founded on.
King taught us that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” What’s happening in Texas isn’t just a Texas problem. It’s a threat to democracy itself and a warning sign of what happens when partisan interests override the people’s will.
This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let’s honor King not just with commemorative words and symbolic gestures, but with concrete action. Let’s organize our communities. Let’s vote and register other voters and get them to the polls. Let’s hold our elected representatives accountable to their promises and demand the fair representation our communities deserve.
King showed us that real change doesn’t come from individual effort alone. It comes from collective action. When we stand together, when we organize together, when we demand equality together, we get real results. That’s the legacy we must carry forward: building the America King envisioned, where we unite across our differences to fight for the rights and dignity of all people.
Because democracy isn’t a spectator sport. It requires all of us – pushing that arc together, consistently and persistently towards justice.
Colin Allred unseated a 22-year Republican incumbent to represent his hometown in Congress in 2018. He’s running to represent the newly drawn 33rd Congressional District – the community that raised him and where he’s now raising his two sons with his wife Aly. Learn more about him at https://www.colinallred.com.