PREPARING FOR COLLEGE

Today our nation pauses to reflect on a dreamer, the prolific Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As many news outlets will only focus on the highlights of King’s dream, I think it is important to expand the scope of his dream and remember his commitment to economic justice.

At the time of his death, King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were in the process of implementing the “Poor People’s Campaign.” This campaign would be the second phase to the civil rights movement and serve as an economic “bill of rights” by helping the poor gain full employment paying a living wages, and access to adequate and affordable housing.

Where are the dreamers? Where are the individuals who believe that poverty can be conquered and opportunity exists for all who seek it? Where are the dreamers who in the face of disparities and inequities maintain faith during the fight? Where are the dreamers who stay focused on the greater good? Will our dreams ever become reality?

King’s dream was a vision of justice, freedom, prosperity, and equality for all. Forty three years later his dream is still rooted in discovering real solutions for combating poverty and systemic economic injustice. We can all play a significant part in honoring King’s dream by using our individual and collective influence to halt the downward spiral in our community.

Income inequality in the United States continues to demand our attention and social action. In communities of color, economic inequities are real and often institutionalized. This income inequality is a root cause of the entrapped effects of poverty and hopelessness. So when I am asked if King’s vision is still relevant, I say yes, it is even more relevant today than it was at the time of the 1963 March on Washington.

We at the Minneapolis Urban League are keeping the dream alive. We are dreaming of a Minneapolis that delivers on the promise of a world-class city with opportunities for all. We are dreaming of partnerships and collaborations that, wielded collectively, can eradicate disparities. We are dreaming of a day that everyone who comes through our doors with a dream finds a gateway to opportunity.
On this Martin Luther King Day, let’s dare to be dreamers and champion a new vision for our community. Status quo is not getting it done. I am often asked what one dreamer can do. One dreamer can care. One dreamer can transform people and places. One dreamer can speak up and speak out. One dreamer can take action. One dreamer can create solutions. One dreamer can help one other person. One dreamer who never gives up can change the world.

UNEMPLOYMENT HITS AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY HARD

Right now in the United States, unemployment is at the lowest level in three years at 8.5 percent. But that does not ring true for the African-American community, Reg Chapman reports. Article from http://minnesota.cbslocal.com.

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OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

Yesterday, in the hustle and bustle of starting a new year, our community paused to bury 3
year‐old Terrell Mays, Jr., the innocent toddler who was killed by a stray bullet in his own home
just two days after Christmas. We at the Minneapolis Urban League extend our condolences to
the entire family of young Terrell.

The death of this baby particularly stirred me as I am the father of a 3‐year‐old son who
happened to celebrate his birthday yesterday. As I reflected on the dichotomy of the day, I
struggled to understand the lack of progress we seem to have made in transforming our
community.

This New Year, 2012, is a great time for us to get really serious about the level of work that
needs to be done in our community. In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. stressed that there is a fierce urgency of NOW. Now, we should not allow another
senseless killing of one of our children. Now, we must join together to support plans that
provide opportunities for all.

How long will we have to continue to talk about the same tragedies and disparities? How long
must our children wait to receive all the promises of our land? How long is the NOW so many
have talked about?

Tomorrow, Minneapolis Urban League staff kicks off the New Year with a planning and
rededication retreat. I plan to ask these questions of my team. If the question is who? I say
US. If the question is how? I say Together. If the question is when? I say NOW.
Join us in the movement to make NOW, 2012, the year to make some significant impacts in our
community.

Scott Gray
President/CEO