Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often remembered for his dreams. What guides me most, however, is his insistence on responsibility, courage and action.
As a communicator, my responsibility is not to soften injustice or make it easier to accept. It is to make it harder to ignore.
That belief shapes how I approach my work as a Black woman and a senior communications leader at Mercy For Animals. It informs the decisions I make about what stories we tell, how directly we tell them and when silence is not an option.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
That question sits at the center of animal protection work. Communications is not just about visibility or engagement. It is about whether our work moves people closer to justice or allows harm to remain hidden and normalized.
Farmed animals are harmed in ways most people never see. They express fear, pain, and joy, and their suffering is largely invisible by design. This reality creates an obligation to communicate clearly and honestly, even when it is uncomfortable or controversial.
Dr. King understood that injustice does not exist in isolation.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Animal exploitation is often treated as separate from other justice issues, something optional or secondary. But systems that normalize harm, silence and profit over life are connected. Ignoring one form of injustice makes it easier to tolerate another.
Dr. King also warned against delay when lives are at stake.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”
In animal welfare, waiting is often framed as a strategy. We wait for the right moment, the right audience, the right conditions. But harm is not paused while we wait. Urgency is not recklessness. It is recognition of what is happening right now.
There are moments when silence feels easier. It can look like neutrality or restraint. It can look like choosing not to push too hard.
But Dr. King was clear.
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
In communications, silence is never neutral. Choosing not to speak can protect factory farms that profit from animal suffering and allow cruelty to continue without public scrutiny. For me, this quote is a reminder that silence is a decision, and one that often comes at the expense of animals.
At Mercy For Animals, power does not come from force or fear. It comes from compassion paired with accountability.
“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice.”
Love, in this work, is not passive. It demands truth-telling. It demands persistence. It demands that we challenge industries, food systems and narratives built on exploitation.
Leadership is tested not in moments of ease, but in moments of resistance.
“The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.”
As a communicator, my role is not to make injustice more palatable. It is to ensure it cannot be ignored.
Dr. King taught us that progress is driven by people willing to speak, act and stand firm, even when it comes at a cost. I strive to honor that legacy through the work I do and the stories I help bring to light.
The question remains as urgent as ever: What are we doing for others today?
