“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”

Maya Angelou

In the spirit of my mother, the Angelou Johnson family welcomes the 116th Congress, the most diverse in history with 127 women taking seats on both sides of the aisles. We also want to salute the new panel of Black Women judges who were elected in Texas recently. As she would say, “Speak from your heart. Do not let the forces of ignorance and hate imprison you and prevent your voice from being heard.”

Given the efforts of the current White House incumbent, this is a time for all Americans who value the freedoms that our Constitution guarantees to make their voices heard. Due to the harbingers of fear, we are standing on the precipice of losing all that America once stood for as a beacon of freedom.

Guy Johnson.