Blogging the Dream

"All my life I have admired individuals and leaders who arose from pasts of unjust violence, lifestyles of violence, and institutional violence to live a life of peace, nonviolence, and social justice. But I always asked myself the question, How? This theory or belief in living a life of non-violence when the whole world around me was falling apart seemed foreign and for the wealthy. 

I grew up being constantly beaten by a father who was a pastor and who left me at 8 years old, to fighting in the streets to ensure that my belongings remained my belongings, to joining a lifestyle which had a core principle of “dog-eat-dog.” This lifestyle then landed in jail and stripped me from my freedom throughout my teen years. Through all this I dreamed and thirsted for a violence-free life but felt as if that was my only identity. 

It was not until I discovered the meaning of social justice and learned about the lives of great leaders like Malcolm X who grew up similar to how I did. These great leaders empowered themselves and the world around them to fight not with each other but rather for equality and justice. I then made a stance and decided that my life and my community are worth more than the suffering created by homicides, domestic violence, child abuse, and unjust violence. 

Martin Luther King Jr. talked about how loving your enemy and freeing the oppressor is a whole war in itself and takes much self discipline and self love to do it. The love for my people, myself, and justice continue to fuel a life of nonviolence and social justice that I am determined to live. No conviction will be larger than my own conviction to be nonviolent as a way to reach social justice. 

This voyage has allowed me to work all over the United States and spread empowerment to young people that also thirst to live a life of peace, justice, and nonviolence. This voyage has brought me to become part of Realizing the Dream’s International Youth Corps, as their mission for world peace aligns with my life-long goals in my pursue of social justice."

-Ely Flores, Los Angeles, California

International Youth Corps (IYC)

A native of Los Angeles, California, Ely Flores was born to an underprivileged family. Faced with the abandonment of his father at an early age, he turned to a gang lifestyle that led to experience – and engage in – violence as a means of survival. But at the age of 17, after many encounters with the law resulting in multiple incarcerations and house arrests, Ely allied himself with two organizations that challenged social injustice through social awareness and community organizing. He discovered a passion within for community building and empowerment and has since worked with multiple organizations, including Youth Justice Coalition, Public Allies Los Angeles, LA CAUSA YouthBuild, YouthBuild USA and currently GRID Alternatives.

In 2006, he founded LEAD (Leadership through Empowerment, Action and Dialogue), that has trained over 100 youth in social justice and community organizing. Despite the injustices he has faced and being only 22 years of age, he has been recognized by a Member of the United States Congress, the California Teachers Association, Mobilize.org, and the Bank of America Foundation. Ely continues working locally and nationally to bring about social change while balancing higher education and raising a son.

Learn more about our IYCers or apply to join the program today!

"Identity is the concept of saying “I am…,” but it’s what comes next that is the key element of human conflict. “I’m Jewish,” “I’m Arabic,” “I’m a woman” and even “I’m a student” holds an inherent attribute from each person we interact with.

When I identify as a Jewish person in front of anyone who is not Jewish, I ought to know that by saying that, I’m expressing to this person a whole range of identities that are interconnected with the “Jewish” identity. The way this person will look at me, think of me, talk and listen to me from this moment will reflect all of what being a “Jewish” person might mean to him—an occupier, or someone with no respect for Arabs and so on. And it goes the other way as well—When an Arab person says “I’m Arabic” to his “Jewish opponent,” he reflects to the other side a whole range of Arabic identities.

This is the negative side of identity. In identifying myself as opposite of the other person in all aspects of life (gender, nationality, religion, etc.), I’m deleting the possibility that we both have something in common.

Maybe it doesn’t matter that the girl next to me is an Arab girl. Maybe what’s more important is that she is a “girl”—Just like me! We can even look at this from a broader sense. The most fundamental fact of our existence is that she is a “HUMAN BEING”! She laughs, eats, loves and cries— Just like me! Maybe from this standpoint I could look and talk to her without throwing all the negativity and bad feelings that the conflict between our identities is producing.

It’s hard, because we are not really the same. We each have a history, culture and language that are different. Those are the things that create and construct our clashed identities. Above all, we each have a basic foundation of rights and freedoms that we each want and aspire to get. 

We are caught in a bad situation. We live in a time and place that keeps us in this conflict. This is my land and her land. But this is one land. And, as I see it, there are two ways to solve the dilemma. The first is in war – maybe I will win and she will die and maybe she will win and I will die – I DON’T WANT TO DIE! I suppose she also DOESN’T WANT TO DIE! So this is not an acceptable option for us.

The second way we can solve the equation is by acknowledging not only our common beliefs and rights, but also our joint interest in life. In order to do so we need to make changes in our surroundings and environment. We cannot live in a place that denies the rights of one on the account of the other. We cannot look to one side and say “We are democratic people” and to the other side say “This piece of land is Jewish”. We are contradicting ourselves. Our Jewish identity is clashing with the Arab identity. That wouldn’t happen if we were genuine with our democratic inspiration.

On the other hand, we cannot always feel guilty and absorb the guilt and shame of living in this place. We live here and that wouldn’t change. What can be changed is the way we look and understand our joint reality. It’s a long way but every journey starts with a single step. I would like to see the end of the journey, but even if I don’t, at least I’ll know I put my kids (when they come into this world…) on the path toward completing it."

The opinions in this post are solely those of Ortal Be’eri. 

Or-Tal Be’eri is from a Kibbutz settlement in the Upper Galilee in Northern Israel. A current Master's student at the Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Or-Tal joined the IYC in Israel in June 2009.

In addition to her studies in building peace, she is working on a personal project based on Joanna Macy's "The Work that Reconnects." Its main goal is to empower Israeli and Palestinian woman to engage in resolution of the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.

“Y.E.S! was conceived during my ride from the airport to the hotel on my first trip with Realizing The Dream to Nairobi, Kenya. Stuck in rush hour traffic, I was able to get a clear look at both the beauty of Kenya and the poverty. I saw vast stretches of underdeveloped land, remnants of housing destroyed due to the previous year's election violence, as well as beautiful, rich trees and flowers and people selling handmade artifacts on the side of the road.

A familiar thought, ‘If only they had the resources...’ emerged. The money to develop that land and provide housing for those displaced persons. the money to actually employ those who so carefully take care of the land, the natives, who simply have a love for nature and its preservation, and tend to its well being for free, the formal entrepreneurial skills/ resources to juxtapose with innate entrepreneurial skills in order to build key relationships and sell their amazing artifacts overseas. 'If only...' This statement was familiar to me, as I muttered it many times driving throughout my home, Newark, NJ.

Moving from downtown Manhattan, NY to Newark less than two years ago was a bit of a culture shock. Similarly engulfed in poverty and beauty, I longed for a platform to encourage the youth of Newark to get off of street corners selling drugs and to employ the acute awareness it takes to avoid the police, the financial savvy it takes to manage even a small drug operation, and the passion for a greater quality of life that usually places them there, and learn about entrepreneurship.

Y.E.S! is that answer. Y.E.S! hopes to save and empower the youth of Urban communities before concluding that the 'streets' are the only option for survival. 

The program includes a standard entrepreneurial curriculum in which the participants will execute a business plan, but with forward technology and an international reach, Y.E.S!l hopes to excel beyond any standard entrepreneurial program. Using iPod Touch devices by Apple Inc., my firm, a social media/ mobile technology company, will create an iPhone application which includes a Chat Messenger, a Collaborative Whiteboard, and a Media Feed of the program's entrepreneurial speakers. This technology will allow U.S. participants to collaborate with African participants to create a entrepreneurial project employing the skills taught in Y.E.S! as well as to form a partnership and camaraderie amongst students from different countries, but battling the same issues. Above all, Y.E.S! speaks to Dr. King's model of redressing poverty, empowering future leaders, and building community throughout the world.”

-Lindsey Holmes

International Youth Corps (IYC)

Newark, New Jersey, USA

Lindsey C. Holmes, a native Washingtonian, has already founded two organizations aimed at financial literacy and social empowerment. Having joined RTD in Kenya in March 2009, her IYC project seeks to promote entrepreneurship to youth under the age of 21 by facilitating a series of interactive workshops.

As an occasional poster to this blog, she will be sharing insight into her efforts at harnessing business skills and technology to create the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

You may learn more about Lindsey or support her project here, or read her inaugural post above!

"The children are like me:  Kenyan, young, and have this whole world at their disposal. However unlike me, they seem not to be aware of the last characteristic. That’s where I feel we (Kenyan Youth) come in. Working with Jahazzi (a group of students from nearby Daystar University) has been a wonderful experience. More so because of the surprises that my community project – ‘planting a seed’ – has come with as we run the project.  

I was to meet my friend in the city. As usual, 2 pm became 3 pm (African time!). Its funny how we still get upset yet we know it is going to happen; I guess we could conclude and say Kenyans are a hopeful lot. I found a bench to sit on as I waited for my friend. Next to me was a lady my age that looked familiar. After a few minutes of conversation, I found out we were from the same university and she introduced me to her friend. We chatted for a while and as I had to leave, we exchanged contacts.

The following weekend was our first bonding session at Seet Kobor primary school. On my way to Nakuru I decided to check up on my new friend who at the time, happened to be going through a rough patch. I shared with her about the Project and invited her to join in case she wanted to get out of the city and clear her mind. Three hours later, she was in Nakuru and I went to pick her up. We spent the whole day making encouraging posters for the student’s classrooms that we would use for the mentor programme. 

The next day was our mentor session with the 8th grade students and she participated in giving a couple of encouraging words to the children. As the weekend came to an end, she shared with me that she has never felt so giving and the feeling was great. Being around the children and seeing how they were so eager to hear what we had for them was such an experience. She thanked me for inviting her and encouraging her not to let her ‘rough patches’ pull her down.

Realizing the Dream has done to me what she felt I did for her. It has taught me that the time to make the difference I want to see is today and not tomorrow. It has given me the push I needed to become a better me. Not only is ‘planting a seed’ for the 8th grade grandaunts but also an avenue for any youth who wants to give back and does not know how. Through the experience with my new friend, I now speak of my project when I get the chance. I just might be giving someone a chance to have that great feeling."

-Claire Sokoto

Nairobi, Kenya

International Youth Corps (IYC) member

Claire Sokoto is currently a 2nd-year undergraduate student studying psychology in Nairobi, Kenya. One of the most active members of the International Youth Corps (IYC), her time in the program has taken her to both Israel and South Africa, and for several months she has been implementing her personal IYC project, “Planting Seeds of Hope.”

As an occasional poster to RTD’s blog, she will be sharing short stories that had an impact on her through her journey with “planting a seed” and with the IYC.

You can learn more about Claire’s project or support her work here, or read her inaugural RTD post above!

Realizing the Dream has since past May been putting the pieces in place for a comprehensive project in Bosnia Herzegovina, one that will seek to leverage Dr. King's liberating message of nonviolence in bringing long-term reconciliation, tolerance and stability to that troubled country. A decade past its bitter civil war, Bosnia still suffers from a series of troublesome issues such as ethnic distrust and social instability, with perhaps the most striking being the level of segregation that exists between the 3 largest groups - Bosniaks (Muslims), Croats (Catholics), and Serbs (Eastern Orthodox).

Michelle Austein Brooks, a blogger for By the People at America.gov, recently documented this state of affairs and spoke with a representative from Realizing the Dream about our ongoing efforts there.

Read the full posting here!

Between November 3rd and 12th, Realizing the Dream is visiting the south Asian nation of Sri Lanka on an assessment mission into that country's lingering postwar struggles. The trip is aimed at laying the groundwork for a full deployment of our Generation II Global Peace Program, a team of heirs to some of the 20th century's greatest peacemakers, such as Gandhi, Trudeau, Chavez and King.

The island country of Sri Lanka has until recently endured a devastating 26-year civil war responsible for over 70,000 deaths, most of them innocent civilians. The conflict pitted the Government of Sri Lanka against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, which was defined as a separatist organization who sought to create an independent Tamil state carved out of the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.  While at their height, the LTTE controlled some areas within the Northern and Eastern Provinces of the island, by May 2009 they had been militarily defeated by government forces.

While the war is officially over, the GoSL and the people of Sri Lanka now face a number of challenges, including the most pressing challenge of relocating and meeting the needs of thousands of people living in Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. At the conclusion of the war there were nearly 300,000 people, mostly ethnic Tamils, which were given shelter and housed in these IDP camps. Thousands of people have since been relocated to their homes, or have been allowed to leave the IDP camps. Moreover, the Government faces a multitude of challenges in rebuilding the country, including the need to foster reconciliation among the multiple ethnic and religious communities that were divided during the many years of war, and whose differences were polarized as a result of the conflict.

After this initial visit, which will consist of meetings with key officials and exploration of the country's IDP camps, RTD intends to deploy the full Gen II team in order to leverage the relationships developed during the first trip to articulate a workable roadmap for sustainable peace in Sri Lanka. Rather than a mere public relations exercise, Gen II will seek to leave a meaningful, long-lasting impact on the country’s peace process and the well-being of all its citizens. The Gen II team will accomplish this by shedding further international light on the situation, engaging leaders from all sectors, and identifying the underlying conflicts that nurtured Sri Lanka’s violent past. Upon completion of the engagement, Realizing the Dream will present the Gen II team’s findings and recommendations for long-term reconciliation and peace to Sri Lanka’s government in Colombo as well as other relevant parties. 

Realizing the Dream and those involved in this project understand that the deep fissures of Sri Lankan society cannot and will not be remedied by a single engagement, but rather a long-term commitment to building a diverse society at peace with itself is required. Upon completion of both visits, Realizing the Dream will continue to monitor the situation in Sri Lanka and will follow-up as necessary through the Gen II program and/or other relevant program strategies. 

Watch out in the coming weeks for photos and for a run-down of the first trip’s accomplishments!

On Friday, October 30th, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) announced that Bernice King, the sister of our CEO and the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., would be its new leader. Mr. King III immediately released a statement on the appointment, saying that “I am confident that as the third member of our family to lead the organization, she will continue to ensure that the values of our father – freedom, justice, equality and peace – are forever at the core of SCLC’s work. I wish her the best of luck.”

You can read Mr. King's full statement in our news section, or learn more about the event in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

As of Monday, November 9th, Blogging the Dream will be the official weblog of Realizing the Dream, Inc. We will use this space to provide updates on new initiatives and offer commentary on current events that relate to our mission, as well as to provide a forum for our global partners and youth corps members to describe their community projects and personal ideas. Our founding president and CEO, Martin Luther King III, will also be joining us on the blog on occasion, so make sure to stay tuned to hear his latest thoughts.

We believe that in addition to our revamped website, news section, Ning.com community and social media presence, this blog will prove an effective tool for engaging not just the current members of our network, but also new visitors who are interested in learning more and contributing. We welcome all interested parties to our new website, and hope that everyone will find a place for enlightening discussion, knowledge and tools of community action.

Our goal is to update the blog at least once a day, so check back regularly and, please, comment all you like!

Best,

Realizing the Dream, Inc. staff