As I watched proceedings leading up to Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis spelling out the racketeering indictments of former President Trump and his co-conspirators, I reflected on those who had gone before and made that moment possible.

Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the August 1963 March on Washington. Douglas Harris of Orange was there and was inspired to give up a scholarship, drop out of college, and drive to Georgia to join the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, aka SNCC, which was headquartered in Atlanta.

He joined hundreds of others who put their lives on the line. Some were later found in shallow graves; others like Doug were shot at and jailed, and others were beaten and suffered police dog attacks. But they persisted despite all obstacles.

Their goal? To register Blacks living in the South to vote. Later the goal was to run for office and become part of local, regional, and national government so they might have a say in governing their own lives and building strong communities, like the former president of SNCC and late Rep. John Lewis.

Trump and Co.’s indictment, except for the judge, was mainly handled by members of the Black community, from DA Willis to the Fulton County Clerk of Courts Che Alexander, and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, who once served as the president of Georgia’s Black Law Enforcement Executives.

The civil rights era of the past has bent the arc toward justice.

Genevieve Harris-Fraser

Orange