What is the Dream?

­ On April 4th, 2008, 40 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, our nation celebrated his life and joined together in renewed dedication to making the dream manifest.

Although much has changed since Dr. King's era, today we must still challenge the immoral poverty and neglect of our brothers and sisters who were left to the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. Like Dr. King in his day, who spoke out courageously against the Vietnam War, we too must say "No!" to w­ars for oil in the Middle East and beyond. And, today we must respond with the same courage to perhaps the biggest crises our species has ever collectively faced, global warming.

In his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, Dr. King spoke of a people exiled on a lonely island of poverty amidst a vast ocean of prosperity. Today, this situation persists. We've traded in legal racial segregation for a culture of private mega-prisons and toxic factories that are stealing the dreams of the next generation. The good news is that young people and communities of color are already growing a movement to do something about it. It is a movement that is giving urban youth meaningful, dignified jobs -- building the economy of the future.

We believe that if Dr. King were with us today, he would be working to build a green economy -- strong enough to lift people out of poverty and restore hope to America. He would be standing with those communities that have been locked out of the last century's pollution-based economy. And he would indeed be working to ensure that ALL our people, the entire beloved community, is included in the emerging clean and renewable economic vision.

Just as King described 40 years ago in his speech, together we must "hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to work together, to struggle together to stand up together, to go to jail together, knowing that we will be free together." At the Dream Reborn Conference in Memphis on April 4th, the world saw that the movement for energy independence and sustainable foods has finally gone beyond speaking and benefiting the eco-elite, and is now a movement for eco-equality and opportunity for all. We must see that the jobs that most need doing are provided to those that most need jobs.

Today there are new voices, new leaders in low-income neighborhoods who have stories to tell. This is a movement of youth of color getting job training, support, and hands-on work experience installing solar panels so that they can independently pursue opportunities in the new energy economy. This is a movement of students from historically black colleges like Howard University and Morehouse College who are part of a new national network of youth of color fighting for climate justice. In Los Angeles, the South Bronx, New Orleans, Detroit, Newark, Milwaukee, Boston, Memphis and across the country, there are communities emerging daily who share this vision and are innovating green jobs solutions to transform their cities.

The Dream Reborn was a chance to embrace and commemorate the legacy of Dr. King and all of the visionaries and fighters who have stood up for racial justice, hope, unity, and equality for all people. It was also a chance to bring together a generation of new leaders who are taking on the chief moral obligation of the 21st century, building a green economy for all. Together, we worked to heal our communities, break down barriers of race and class, and build pathways out of poverty to uplift the entire nation. Together, we will continue this work.