This column is adapted from remarks Emma Amiad made at the Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration earlier this month.

It’s no secret that over the last year we’ve seen an increasing growth and empowerment of racist and hate speech and actions across our country. I think it’s taken many of us by surprise. We thought blatant racism was dead or at least dying, but instead we’ve learned that it was just sleeping. It only took a bit of encouragement from our current administration to fully awaken the most hateful words and actions.

Living as we do, in a liberal and mostly white community, it’s easy to slip into complacency. We deal with our local problems here of course, but we like to think racism isn’t one of them. We have become smug reading about cross burning and neo-Nazi rioting in the South, gunning down of African Americans in our largest cities and the vicious words of elected officials in our capitol toward immigrants and all non-white people. But we have nothing to gloat about. Racism and other prejudices are here, as everywhere, and need to be rooted out.

Any time we look at another person and begin to think of their differences from us, whether it’s racial, political, appearance, apparent wealth or lack of it, sexual orientation or gender, we are just as guilty as the out and out bigots who appear nightly on television.

Any time we pass by an opportunity to intervene when we see injustice being done, or speak out when we hear hateful speech, we are as guilty as those who carry the burning torches and yell their hateful message. It takes courage to speak up, but Dr. Martin Luther King, and so many others, not only spoke up but died for the idea of justice and equal rights for everyone. The least we can do is to be vigilant against our own racism and prejudices.

I know it may sound strange, but I’m almost grateful for our current situation. With the Obama presidency, we started speaking about being a “post-racial society.” We congratulated ourselves on achieving Dr. King’s dream. But now we know the truth. We were ignoring reality and living in an illusion. Racial hatred has come back into the open with a vengeance, and we can’t turn a blind eye to it any longer. Our current political and cultural life is a deep reminder that our work is far from finished.

I know that the stress level for most of my friends is high. We can easily feel assaulted and powerless. But that’s when we most need to step out of our hopelessness and depression and get to work on ways that can help. I applaud the group of folks, one couple very new to the island, who organized around offering a welcoming community and help to a couple of Syrian refugee families. I applaud those who march for racial justice. I applaud those who are teachers and take the time to teach their children about racial injustice and the successes of the past.

We can start by reading books that help us understand white privilege, class warfare, racial inequity and that population of poor white people who see themselves left behind by the growing wealth of the few at the expense of the many. We need to try to understand as much as possible to help. Then we must show up and stand up in many ways to bring about change. 2018 brings us to the mid-term elections. There are many congressional seats up for grabs. Look for folks who share your values, and work for them. Send money to their campaign if you can, and meet with them so that they know what you care about. Join with others in organizations working for social justice. Speak out when you hear words of hate. That is often the hardest to do because sometimes those words are coming from friends and family.

I have no magic answers. I just know that Dr. King’s words always ring in my ears. Two of my favorite quotes that inspire me are these: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” And, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”

— Emma Amiad is a local business woman and community activist.