Today I honor Brother Alexis and Sister Kevin Ann. At Our Lady of Sorrows, Brother Alexis was my first basketball coach, and Sister Kevin Ann was my kindergarten teacher. They later left the church, married, and became Ted and Susie Kalinowski. Both have passed away, but their impact on my family and me remains. They didn’t just teach us about equality. They stood up. They marched with us. They stood beside my mother, Mary Thomas, our Foundational Black American family, and our community during a time when racial segregation and discrimination were very real in America. Today, through their example, I also want to acknowledge the white men and women who stood with Foundational Black Americans in the fight against segregation and racial injustice. When silence was easier, you stood up. You marched. You protested. You challenged segregation and discrimination. You understood that equality and human dignity belonged to all of us. The struggle for freedom and civil rights was led b...