“The erasure of Black history is not an accident in the American story,” said Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance held at Columbia High School in January. “It has always been, and still is, a way to stop democracy.”
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Observance on Jan. 19, hosted and produced by the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, featured a keynote speech by Muhammad on the theme “Do Not Erase Our History.”
In introducing Muhammad, event organizer Mia Charlene White noted that he is the inaugural professor of African American Studies and Public Affairs at Princeton University, where he examines the “broad intersections of systemic racism, structural inequality, and democracy in U.S. history.”
But “perhaps most importantly,” White said, “Khalil is a beloved son, husband, father, friend, and neighbor.”
“It’s great to be home and to be embraced by those who love you,” began Muhammad, noting that his wife, former South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education member and current Democratic District Leader, Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad, was in the audience, as was his mother.
Dr. Khalil G. Muhammad
Muhammad also thanked the Coalition on Race for continuing the tradition of the MLK Observance. “It’s becoming more and more important each year,” he said. He also thanked the students, volunteers, politicians, and community members who helped make the event possible.
In his speech, Muhammad turned to ideas from Dr. King’s last book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” He talked about how many Americans are still grappling with questions of justice. He quoted King, saying most people are “uneasy with injustice, but unwilling yet to pay a significant price to eradicate it.”
Muhammad called out actions of the Trump Administration, including efforts to eradicate DEI — or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “It would be one thing to say you are ending DEI, as many moderates and centrists have argued … because it is ineffective. It is another to say that DEI and the entirety of the anti-discrimination law since the passage of the Civil Rights Act is anti-white and represents 60 years of prejudice and hatred against white people.” Muhammad said that the irony is that there is still a “long list of unfinished businesses” of the Civil Rights Act, including a massive wealth gap, health disparities, and more.
Muhammad stressed that racism is not a thing of the past. “The racism of today is real,” he said, again quoting King, adding that “the prescription for the cure rests with the accurate diagnosis of the disease.” He warned that avoiding history allows injustice to adapt and grow.
Muhammad compared modern racism to “a super bacteria that gets stronger when the host fights only parts of it,” adding, “It’s 2026, and the super bacteria is now at pandemic levels.” He also addressed political efforts to weaken civil rights protections and remove Black history from schools and public institutions.
“The erasure of Black history is not an accident in the American story,” Muhammad said. “It has always been, and still is, a way to stop democracy.”
He reminded the audience that “Dr. King was not killed because his words were only inspirational,” but because King challenged Americans to confront uncomfortable truths in order to live up to his vision.
Muhammad closed by urging the community to reject fear and commit to honesty. “We owe it to Dr. King,” he said, “to be truth tellers, to be clear-eyed, to be scientific, as he said, in our diagnosis for our moment.”
He quoted Dr. King, “Today our very survival depends on our very ability to stay awake. To be woke. To adjust to new ideas. To remain vigilant. And to face the challenge of change. Freedom is not won by a passive acceptance of suffering. Freedom is won by a struggle against suffering. No great victories are won in the war for the transformation of a whole people without total participation.”
Watch the South Orange-Maplewood Community Coalition on Race’s 2026 MLK Day Observance here:
Francesca Cudrin is an 11th grade student at Columbia High School, working as a paid student freelancer with Village Green through a grant from the NJ Civic Information Consortium.
