Millions of Americans will rally on Saturday in the latest “No Kings” protests. As notes in a previous post there are more than 30 demonstrations slated throughout Kentucky on March 28.

With that in mind, it’s worth noting that PBS is promoting a Ken Burns documentary on Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century “teacher, scientist, and activist who engaged deeply with society while questioning its values.”

Click the link above and you’ll see a promo for the documentary. So why are we promoting this?

For one, it’s important to remember that civil disobedience has always been part of the fabric of America.

Second, my cousin appears in the documentary to share some family history on how in the mid-20th century our imprisoned uncle discussed Thoreau with a fellow inmate named Malcolm Little. The name might not mean anything to most Americans, but change the last name from Little to X (and not in the sense of Elon Musk’s bastardization of the letter), and you see that the teachings of Thoreau influenced the philosophy of an American civil-rights icon.