Friends, I spent last week in Alabama with a group of students touring Civil Rights sites: visiting the churches where Martin Luther King, Jr. preached and organized, walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and learning about the current work of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Equal Justice Initiative. Politicians love Martin Luther King Day, often using it to connect themselves to a movement they oppose themselves to during the other 364 days of the year. After all, even Mike Pence has spoken at MLK Day events, as did Donald Trump last year at Liberty University, as did Indiana's new governor Eric Holcomb just last Friday. Yet, as a lawyer we spoke with at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) told us, many Alabama legislators won't listen to anything they know is coming from the EJI. Governor Eric Holcomb now has a contact page online, and we are going to use it. There is no use calling him today, but we can use the email link. I would suggest a very short message: Governor Holcomb, Thank you for promising to pardon Keith Cooper. We hope that you will do so before the end of January. Include this link to the YouTube video in which he makes that promise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87iT8C0J0A. I think it is also time to bring Indiana's legislators into our efforts. Below are the names and email addresses of ten Indiana state legislative leaders. Try emailing them from your personal email account rather than from the legislature website as the website filters email to exclude those not from the recipient's district. Senator.Long@iga.in.gov Senator David Long, President Pro Tem (R) Senator.Hershman@iga.in.gov Senator Brandt Hershman, Senate Majority Leader (R) Senator.Lanane@iga.in.gov Senator Tim Lanane, Senate Minority Leader (D) H88@iga.in.gov Representative Brian Bosma, Speaker of the House (R) H23@iga.in.gov Representative Bill Friend, Speaker Pro Tempore (R) H79@iga.in.gov Representative Matthew Lehman, Majority Floor Leader (R) H29@iga.in.gov Representative Kathy Richardson, Majority Caucus Chair (R) H9@iga.in.gov Representative Scott Pelath, Minority Leader (D) H1@iga.in.gov Representative Linda Lawson, Minority Floor Leader (D) H95@iga.in.gov Representative John Bartlett, Minority Caucus Chair (D) What to say to these legislators: We have been disappointed by Mike Pence's failure to support justice for Keith Cooper with a full pardon. Governor Holcomb has promised to pardon Cooper, so please hold him to his commitment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87iT8C0J0A There is one other thing you can do: We are six signatures away from 113,000 on this petition. Since it's MLK Day, I wonder if we can get to 114,000? Can you help with this? Do you know five people who would sign this? If so, please share this petition with them. If I am able, I will try a revision of this petition soon to target Eric Holcomb rather than Mike Pence. The mission remains the same: Let's get a full pardon for Keith Cooper. Thanks, Jack Heller