Dreaming while Black is a Revolutionary Act

by Jeralyn Cave

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., learned a lesson of biblical proportions that will be forever memorialized in Black history: dreaming too big can cost you your life. As the 50^th anniversary of his assassination quickly approaches in April, we pause and uplift the harsh reality that for Black people, dreaming and pursuing a vision for Black liberation can still cost someone their health, their personal safety, their career, and even their life.  For Black people to radically imagine a country and a world free of white supremacy and all of its intersectional tentacles of oppression – and to pursue this goal – is a radical act that takes courage, heart, sacrifice, love, patience and self-discipline.

The powerful thing that history records is that Black folks refuse to quit dreaming. Whether it’s developing a Vision for Black Lives, Taking a Knee, or doing the hard work of organizing across the country, Black people refuse to stop dreaming.  Despite setbacks, attacks from the White House, and blatant intimidation from white supremacists, we continue to pursue a just democracy where Black communities have power and self-determination.

Today, Black visionaries are leading movements in politics, art, culture and media to reimagine what it means for our communities to be free and safe. By pursuing their beautiful dreams, they continue to create a new legacy for Black youth and write the history we can be nothing but proud of.

This year, Advancement Project’s national office dedicates Black History Month to the fearless visionaries that are creating the history we want to see now, and are inspiring and motivating others to do the same. Throughout February, you’ll see content from us that celebrates leaders young, and young at heart, who champion voting rights, protections for immigrants, and education justice for Black and Brown youth in schools everywhere.

Follow us as we explore how Dreamers of the African diaspora are making an impact and how our favorite Dream Girls, a.k.a. Black women, are literally saving America. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t recognize the 50^th anniversary of 1968, the tumultuous year that we can never forget, that shaped Black History for decades to come.

Through our celebration, we hope to encourage others to bravely make Black History today.  We hope to proclaim, in a critical moment in our nation’s history, that we refuse to give up on our dreams. We will not stop. And even while opponents of racial justice may sleep, we are #StillDreaming.

Follow our 2018 Black History Month content using the hashtag #StilllDreaming.  And to all the Black Dreamers, we salute you, we admire you and we love you!

Happy Black History Month!