*Signing this letter is by invitation only until August 13, 2021. You are seeing this letter because someone who signed it believes that you care about these issues and can be trusted to maintain confidentiality about this effort until it is made public

Dear Fellow Americans,

On August 28, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired America to dream. In one of the great speeches of history, King shared his vision of a country united by its founding principles, its principles applicable to all its citizens, its citizens judged on their individual virtues. As King himself noted, his dream was a reaffirmation of the American Dream, the conviction that freedom begets opportunity and opportunity begets prosperity.

Today, both King’s dream and the American Dream are under assault by a set of ideologies obsessed with race, hostile to merit, contemptuous of our country’s founding ideals, and destructive to our common humanity. A small but vocal minority have employed these illiberal and divisive ideologies to capture our schools and universities, coopt our workplaces, and sway our government. Amplified by the undemocratic power of social media, and masters of intimidation, these self-described social justice warriors have succeeded in bullying the majority of Americans into silence. And with the acquiescence of silence, they have set us on the path to extinguishing King’s dream.

On Saturday, August 28, 2021, on the anniversary of King’s majestic speech, we come together as a coalition of Americans to renew and rekindle these dreams. While we differ in background and upbringing, and vary in political affiliation and religious beliefs, we share a common sentiment and resolve. We share an unwillingness to stay silent. We share a commitment to fight for free expression. We share a refusal to see King’s dream extinguished.

We share these dreams.
 
We share the dream of preserving the values embedded in our country’s founding documents and animating the original civil rights movement, and we reject the belief that these values are inherently racist or are the product of racism.

We share the dream of protecting and defending the principles of free speech necessary for an open and democratic society, and we reject the view that the avoidance of individual discomfort outweighs the overwhelming benefit to society of diversity of thought.

We share the dream that all Americans be evaluated solely by their individual talents, efforts, virtue and character, and we reject the notion that Americans be segregated into identity groups or judged because of their placement into any such group.

We share the dream of a fair and prosperous society, and we reject the idea that merit in education or in the workplace should be sacrificed for outcomes defined by racial identification or by any other group affiliation.

We share the dream that our children be taught the moral complexities of history and that they and their teachers be encouraged to speak openly and freely in the classroom, and we reject the climate of indoctrination, intimidation and fear that has become pervasive throughout our public and private education system.

We share the dream that respectful engagement and civil debate on difficult issues can be restored, and we reject the atmosphere of tribalism and polarization promoted by our political parties and by traditional and social media.

We share the dream that the political, business, and educational leaders of our country will regain their courage, reclaim their virtue, and rediscover their civic duties, and we reject the cowardice that has allowed and encouraged a censorious culture to take root.

On August 28, 1963, King also inspired America to act. With the “fierce urgency of now” we share one last dream.

We share the dream that on August 28, 2021, we will stand together in unity and a new movement will be birthed. With the spirit of kinship fundamental to the original civil rights movement, we will reaffirm and reignite the thoroughly American dreams of Martin Luther King.