Dallas Senior Trial Attorney Deontae Wherry
Every year, we gather to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But to truly honor him, we cannot settle for speeches and ceremonies. Dr. King never asked us to be comfortable, he asked us to be courageous. He asked us to look honestly at the world around us and refuse to accept injustice as normal. Here, in Texas, that call still echoes loudly.
Dr. King understood something profound: the struggle for civil rights and the struggle for workplace justice are the same fight. He knew that a person cannot live free if they cannot work free from discrimination, free from retaliation, free from exploitation, free from the systems that suffocate opportunities. Dr. King often reminded us that laws limiting the rights of Black Americans also limited their ability to participate fully in the economy. Economic inequality and racial inequality, he insisted, were two sides of the same broken coin.
His commitment to that truth helped carry this nation toward critical protections like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 often referred to as the “second emancipation.” That law opened doors that had been closed for generations. And yet, more than half a century later, the fight he waged is still ours to finish.
Across the country, worker protections continue to bend under political pressure. The shifts in federal policy have weakened safeguards for workers, especially for communities that have long faced discrimination and economic vulnerability.
Even the way we honor Dr. King has been contested. In recent months, the President used executive authority to attempt to eliminate MLK Day. He does not have the authority to make this change. MLK Day continues to be a federal holiday, as stated by the Office of Personnel Management. Still, that moment highlighted how progress can slowly fade away, sometimes without people realizing it.
However, in Texas, the genuine spirit of determination is evident. In Dallas, communities will come together over the weekend to “inspire action, unity, and remembrance” with events that not only celebrate Dr. King’s legacy but also encourage us to continue his work.
But celebration alone cannot hide the truth: many Texans still face injustice on the job. They face discrimination that stalls careers. Retaliation that silences voices. Wage theft that robs families. Barriers that deny dignity.
And that is why I do this work. It is my passionm and it is my calling.
Every client who steps into my office brings a story of being mistreated, overlooked, targeted, or taken advantage of. These stories are not just legal matters; they are reminders that Dr. King’s dream still requires defenders. In his final days, Dr. King stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with sanitation workers in Memphis because he understood that unfair treatment in the workplace is an attack on human dignity itself. He believed employers should not only follow the law, but they should also honor the humanity of the people who labor for them.
That conviction fuels my work every single day. I fight for workers because every act of justice, no matter how small it may seem, pushes us closer to the world Dr. King envisioned, a world where dignity is non‑negotiable and equality is real.
Dr. King warned us never to “sleepwalk through history.” He urged us to stay awake, stay aware, and stay committed to the transformation our society desperately needs. His work lit the torch but it’s up to us to carry it.
And so, as we honor him this year, let us not simply remember him. Let us build a Texas—and a country—where every worker is treated with fairness, respect, and humanity.
If you have experienced discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or unpaid wages, please contact my office to schedule a consultation with me. Your voice deserves to be heard. Your rights deserve to be protected. Your dignity deserves to be defended. Together, we can push Dr. King’s dream forward.