I’m not going to write a long essay about this because I’m sitting chilly in my tiny room and itching for some lunch, but I want to get down a few of the best links from the Dream Reborn conference. This is the thing that I spent 3+ months organizing with Green For All out of our new office in Oakland. We brought 1100 job trainers, policy specialists, green activists, students, church-folk, business-people, and other enthusiasts to Memphis for a 3 day gathering on the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s Assassination. It really was an incredible moment in the trajectory of my career as an activist and a person. This is because it was a gathering of low-income people of color (70% people of color, 50% from modest means) for the cause of creating an inclusive green economy and opportunities for everybody. I’ve always tried to incorporate work for clean energy, environmental protection, and climate solutions together with work for justice and equity for people who need it the most. This conference was the beginning of realization of that vision for many many people.
Here are some things to share:
- A juicy, tear-inducing video of interviews with attendees throughout the conference who shared their own “dreams” that weaves in quotes from Dr. King
- A re-mixed audio clip of Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.’s keynote speech talking about the importance of the Hip Hop movement in the new freedom movement (Sadly, I actually missed this speech as I was coordinating volunteers)
- A sweet interview that Green For All founder, Van Jones did on The Colbert Report the week before the conference
- An article in the greenie-humor blog, Grist, that links to other dispatches from Memphis
- A few of the estimated 3 trillion giddy quotes and comments people sent to us after the event: “Powerful” “wonderful, wonderful” “beautiful” “totally incredible” “a new stepping stone” “a true gift, a privilege, and a pleasure” “an opportunity of a lifetime” “more than a conference – a transformative experience” “a spring board for my return to activism”
- The Green Economy is Coming – a video by Applied Research Center, one of our partners for The Dream Reborn
- All the Flickr images from The Dream Reborn
- All the news stories that we’ve collected about the event
- The Dream Reborn networking group on the enviro-networking-website, WiserEarth
- Presentations and other resources from the speakers we saw
- Some reflections from Van on what the conference meant to him as a Black man from nearby Jackson, Tennessee who’s fought for racial justice and environmental jobs for people in need
