Dream Reborn: Green Jobs for All

This past weekend, April 4-6, thousands of people descended on Memphis, Tennessee, to celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King 40 years after his assassination. Civil rights leaders, community activists, faith and non-profit leaders were at the Dream Reborn conference to honor Dr. King in particular by sharing their dreams for economic justice in a new, green economy.

Participants at the first-ever event recognized the urgent need to transition away from polluting industries that have damaged the health of their communities and caused global warming. Many see the transition to a cleaner economy as an opportunity to create green pathways out of poverty -- jobs that contribute to cleaner air and enable those with barriers to employment (race, class, educational and cultural barriers) to achieve their dreams.

Speakers at the conference echoed Dr. King's dream for economic freedom and equal opportunity. During a powerful, emotionally-charged opening ceremony, Bracken Hendricks of Center for American Progress urged the audience to confront the threat of climate change, "the biggest human rights crisis in the world." Afeni Shakur, renowned activist and former member of the Black Panther Party, urged the audience to put its words about green jobs into action.

In the exhibit hall, during the plenary sessions and workshops, the high energy level was palpable. Panelists, many of them founders of green jobs training programs from Los Angeles to the Bronx, shared success stories with audiences full of young activists and students from Memphis, Atlanta, Baton Rouge and Oakland, from Minnesota, New Jersey and Alaska, including Sierra Club environmental justice program staff and leaders from the communities in which they work. Workshops, such as "Show Me the Money! Financing Green-Collar Jobs," provided a roadmap and resources for launching community green jobs, building efficiency, and clean water programs.

Majora Carter, of Sustainable South Bronx, and Van Jones, of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and founder of Green for All (see April 3 post) hosted the conference. Their organization envisions a country in which poor communities no longer suffer disproportionately from a dirty-energy economy and aims to build "an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty."

Check out the conference website and videos at www.dreamreborn.org and www.greenforall.org

Comments

[David Gignac]

if we would start building housing highrises we would have a lot more room for greenspace, trees and widlife. Energy could be managed more efficiently and monitored. Not big brother style but friendly uncle style.

[writing gigs]

if we could open up some energy efficient jobs for people in detroit it would help with natural gases solution and our unemployment solution two birds one stone persay.