On April 6, 2025, I took part in Our Time to Break Silence—a public reading of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. The program was held at Monroe Street United Methodist Church in Toledo. I served as chair of the storytelling committee and represented The Hands Up Project.

But what moved me most was curating the art exhibition Moon, Tell Me Truth.

The exhibition featured stories, poems, and short plays created by young people in Gaza. These pieces were written during the current genocide. Some told of fear. Some of love. Many carried questions no child should have to ask. But all of them reached for something higher—hope, dignity, truth.

People walked through the exhibit slowly, quietly. They read each caption. They looked closely. Some cried. Some whispered prayers. Others took pictures, asked questions, stayed long after the event ended. One person told me, “This work changed how I understand what’s happening.”

Community members bought copies of Moon, Tell Me Truth—the collection of these student writings—to share in their school libraries, classrooms, and churches. A local pastor said, “We need this in front of our youth. They need to see what strength looks like.”

Throughout the reading of King’s speech, the crowd stood together and echoed his words:

“I will NOT be silent.”

It echoed louder after they saw the children’s work.

This wasn’t just an art exhibit. It was testimony. And people listened.

Fatima Dajani. Toledo, USA