By: Terry Allen
Inspired by Rosa Parks’ “When your mind is made up, this diminishes fear.”
When your mind is made up, fear loses much of its grip. That truth — spoken so plainly by Rosa Parks — cuts deep when we look at how Black Americans and allies have stood against violence, injustice, and systemic cruelty for generations. It’s the thread that connects Sit-Ins to Selma, Boycotts to marches, and ordinary people to extraordinary change.
You think courage just pops up? Hell no. Courage is decided — a made-up mind in the face of fear.
We remember the countless African Americans beaten, hosed, lynched, murdered or criminalized just for asking, demanding, and fighting for basic civil freedoms. Freedom to vote. Freedom to be treated as human. Freedom to breathe.
We remember how Charles Evers — brother of Medgar — refused to give up his economic power until vendors in his town were integrated. He didn’t beg. He withheld business for months, driving miles to buy from places that served everyone equally. That’s what a made-up mind looks like — action over comfort.
Fast-forward to Minneapolis in 2026 — a city rocked by federal enforcement actions that left protester and ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, dead. Pretti, described by friends and family as compassionate and community-focused, was shot by federal immigration agents during anti-ICE/immigration enforcement protests. Videos and witness accounts contradict initial official claims, showing him unarmed and trying to help a woman before he was tackled and shot multiple times. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death a homicide — the second killing of a civilian this month by federal agents in the city, sparking national outrage and calls for accountability.
This isn’t a fringe moment — it’s part of a pattern. And like Malcolm X said after President Kennedy’s assassination, “the chickens have come home to roost.” That line wasn’t a calculation of cruelty; it was a challenge to America to see the consequences of its own aggression and hypocrisy.
These voices, from Charles Evers to Rosa Parks to today’s activists, don’t whisper. They shout empowerment and authenticity. They remind us the cost of freedom is paid in decisions — made with the courage to act.
CALL TO ACTION:
I want to hear from you. **If we could revisit all these moments of violence and resistance — from civil rights foot soldiers to the Minneapolis protests — what would you do differently? Email your thoughts and reflections to join this honest conversation.
What would you do?
Terry Allen is an NABJ award-winning Journalist, DEI expert, PR professional, and founder of the charity – Vice President at Focus- PR, Founder of City Men Cook, and Dallas Chapter President of NBPRS.org
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