As we enter the new year, January represents a time of tremendous change and progress for our nation. Just think about the events that lay in store: the annual March for Life, MLK Day, and, of course, the presidential inauguration, in which my friend President-elect Trump will take the oath of office and return to the White House.
January will also mark the time when President Jimmy Carter was laid to rest after his death at age 100. Over the course of my life, I had the honor of getting to know President Carter, and I am grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.
When peripherals collide, convergence is imminent. The convergence of these events cannot just be a coincidence, and January’s March for Life, in particular, offers us an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made in the movement.
By the grace of God and the strength of President Trump’s Supreme Court picks, Roe v. Wade was finally overturned in June 2022. This was a moment that I, and millions like me, prayed, marched and hoped for. However, it was also a moment that many of us were unsure would ever happen in our lifetimes.
Let us all praise the Almighty that abortion is no longer a constitutionally protected right in the United States. Yet this does not mean that our work is over as a movement. Instead, as we continue to march in support of the unborn, we will also turn our efforts to the state level to protect life through state legislatures.
While many states took quick action to restrict abortion with the fall of Roe, there is still work to be done. It is reprehensible that some states allow abortions even up to the ninth month of pregnancy.
There is hope, however. Through our movement of love, we can provide information, resources and education to women facing unexpected pregnancies. The America First Policy Institute is leading the way on this issue with the rollout of the HOPE Agenda, a pro-life, pro-family framework aimed at caring for the two lives involved: the mother and child. This will show the American people that our movement of life is also a movement of love, and all of God’s children have inherent dignity that must be protected.
On Jan. 20, we will inaugurate President Trump for his second term. We will also observe the annual celebration of the life and legacy of my uncle, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., honoring his impact on our country.
Every year, I pause and reflect on his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. If my uncle were alive today, I think he would remind us that we are the one-blood human race, all brothers and sisters in Christ, and that the American Dream is for everyone — no matter our ethnicity, creed or religion.
His speech galvanized the nation and reminded the world of America’s simple promise: that the ‘unalienable rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness’ are promised to all by our founding documents, and it is up to us to ensure that these rights are protected for the least among us.
It is no coincidence that on the very same day as MLK Day, we will celebrate the second inauguration of President Trump. I believe that God made it so that these two events would align.
President Trump’s promise to return to the ‘America First’ policies that uplift, dignify and respect humanity will help us cherish the blessings of America and spread those blessings to the forgotten men and women of our nation.
President Trump’s first term helped deliver on these promises, bringing jobs, economic growth, school choice and a culture of life to our forgotten communities. Now, with President Trump’s leadership, we can return to that formula. This January, we return to our path of peace and prosperity for all.
I encourage all of you to join me in praying for America as we enter these promising days ahead and for our peace and prosperity throughout the new year.
Through our prayers, hope and continued hard work, we can finally rejoice that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I pray that one day, we will look back on January 2025 as the month when America once again became a nation that united around the one-blood human race and embraced the dignity of life for all of God’s children, from the womb to the tomb and beyond.