Carlton L. Highsmith

The true danger to a democracy is not simply when power overreaches. It is when the people no longer feel disturbed by that power overreach.

History’s verdict is unwavering: democracy survives not by the silence of the cautious, but by the courage of the convicted.

As we face a future rife with emerging technologies—AI-generated content, deepfakes, synthetic voices—we must ask not just what is possible, but what is true.

Acknowledging the wrongs of slavery and oppression is not weakness. It is not self-hate. It is the very definition of patriotic strength.

For centuries Blacks have been denied full participation in the American Dream. But for the sake of our collective progress, as we recover from the crippling economic effects of COVID-19, our country has a mandate to acknowledge its history of systematic institutionalized exclusionary practices and not repeat them.