At one time we could confidently turn to the U.S. Supreme Court for relief from extremist behavior that attempted to take away rights we already had or rights we were fighting to achieve. Today, unfortunately, we experience extremism in so many areas of our lives.

Our forever President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama are sounding the alarm and have asked all of us to join with activists who’ve been sounding the alarm on extremism for years. Unfortunately, many never even dreamed racism and all the other negative “isms” would ever become as threatening as they are today!

We thought Donald Trump, Ronald DeSantis, and a big chunk of the MAGA crowd were just a joke. It must be clear now that they are for real, and people who we thought were semi-sensible have come down front to prove we were wrong.

Many of these people have spent years building their strength to damage us in many ways. I don’t think we ever thought we would witness a leader in the White House (Don- ald Trump) who would work so hard to harm us. Or that such a large group of people running for president would mirror Trump behavior and support the same turmoil that has been created by him.

Can you imagine a Black leader being convicted or having as many serious indictments as Mr. Trump who would still be walking the streets freely?

I talk with many people who’ve lost faith that Mr.Trump will ever pay for his thuggish behavior. If you think there is any hope that we will be able to head off a bunch of local and state “Trumps,” we’ve got to take an interest and action in heading off the destruction of our local communities.

We must attend our city council, school board, county council, and political party meetings. We can’t fight the extremism that’s growing all around us by waiting for somebody else to handle things. We must stand up and help fight this extremism.

Extremists want to cancel true African-American history, fair voting rights, and rights to be educated at certain universities. Teachers are being fired. Books have been banned. Affirmative action rights to correct past wrongs are canceled, and for women, our right to choose what happens with our bodies—all of that has happened just over the past few months.

Just think about what will happen in the coming years with any one of the current presidential candidates challenging

President Biden, who is trying his best to put our nation back on a sensible course for which it professes to stand.

We have people we once thought to be friends and to have a concern about our human rights now toying with giving aid and comfort to the enemies of our people. Whether or not they carry out their dangerous plans, we need to remind them of the negative impact their present course of actions will have on the 2024 presidential, senatorial, and house results. You know who they are.

As much as Dr. Cornell West has usually been on the right side of issues, we question his intention now. Sen. Joe Mansion always has been suspect, and has failed us at crucial times. I don’t think any of us can explain Joe Kennedy—so spread the news when somebody figures it out!

The writer is president of The Dick Gregory Society.