Thank you, Joe Gannon, for speaking truth to power about MLK Jr. and the violence he stood and spoke against in this land of the so-called free (”The good doctor diagnosed our malady: spiritual death,” Gazette, May 8). And thank you, John Paradis (”White Rose legacy transcends, inspires,” Gazette, April 11) for bringing to light how dangerous truth-spreading was under Hitler. And thank you to our hometown Gazette for printing both. None of you will likely face the guillotine, as Sophie Scholl and her brother did, beheaded by the Gestapo for leafleting in 1943 Germany. Nevertheless, I am beyond grateful for the brave truths you bring to my doorstep, causing me to dress in black and to show up at the White Rose rally in Northampton on Friday.

Jane McPhetres Johnson

Amherst