Dr. King’s Wish: : Organizing for a New Future: A Giving Tuesday Message

Grace and Peace to all of the changemakers who inspire us and make our work possible. For those of you who know me, you will know that one of the great, guiding inspirations in my life is the prophetic voice and ministry of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I had the pleasure of journeying to Montgomery, Alabama as part of a group of racial justice organizations in the American South earlier this month and visited Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr. King served as pastor. As I saw various historical landmarks commemorating the Southern Freedom Movement that sought to build a new future, I remembered a message from Dr. King. While many know of Dr. King’s dream, few know of Dr. King’s wish. 

Dr. King, facing a nation aiding and abetting an unjust war abroad and injustice and hate at home, approached the country with a wish. His wish was that “people who are committed to peace must organize as effectively as those who love war.” Dr. King’s Dream was the dream of a new future, but his wish was how the dream could be achieved. Dr. King’s wish was that changemakers facing the mindset of the profit motive and cycles of racism, economic exploitation, hate, and war would organize to build a new future centered by “a radical revolution of values.”

Initiatives of Change USA is continuing this radical tradition of organizing towards a  values-based future predicated on Love, Honesty, Unselfishness, and Accountability. 

If I were to describe my first year as Executive Director, I would describe it as organizing for a new future. Our theory of change has been New Mindsets. New Cycles. New Futures. As we all know, change and revolution start within us. Our organizational transformation work has led to new dynamic board members, including recently-added member Breon Wells. It has led to pay equity for our staff to better embody our values within the culture and practice of our organization. And that also extends to our community outreach and programming, all made possible thanks to your generous support.

Community Programs

Within our community, we are building an infrastructure of understanding towards a shared public memory and common humanity in our Intersecting History programming. We have also been highlighting long-rejected histories through our Collective Journeys programming. We have been holding space for all members of our community, from our Circle Up programming in Richmond Public Libraries, to our Southside Afro-Latino Coalition and our Collective Healing Initiative through UNESCO. 

National Partnerships
Through our national partnerships with Truth Racial Healing and Transformation Network, E Pluribus Unum, and Allstate Foundation, we are organizing with racial justice partners across the nation while supporting the visions and dreams of racial healing for the next generation through our Freedom and Healing Community Cohort. We are also continuing to organize our changemakers across the nation through our Community Trustbuilding Fellowship Summits and Organized Fellowship Network.  

Global Efforts

Through our Caux scholars and Global Alumni Initiative Network, we are equipping changemakers across the world to transform cycles of conflict into cycles of healing that lead to futures of peace, justice, and solidarity. Through our work with UNESCO’s Healing the Wounds of Transatlantic Slavery, we are connecting local and global efforts to heal the enduring legacy of enslavement. In fact, I am writing to you all from Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I will be presenting at UNESCO’s Global Forum Against Racism and Discrimination.  The movement and work of IofC USA to build a new future of revolutionary values is also inspiring and equipping changemakers all across the world, from Sao Paulo to South Africa, through our new partnership with Exploring Visual Cultures (EVC).

Fulfilling the Wish, Embracing the Dream

While we seek to honor the legacy of Dr. King, we know that he was not the only one with a dream of a new future. We also know that to fulfill his wish and to embrace his dream, we need our community’s support. We need your support. 

So this Giving Tuesday, I'm asking that you join us by  giving a financial gift to IofC USA today to help us fulfill Dr. King’s wish of building another generation of changemakers who are organized to bring about a new future. The future we seek cannot be achieved without resources and funding, and we could not do the dynamic work we do without your generous support. Thank you to those who have supported our work and we humbly ask for your continued support. 

Towards a New Future,

Allan-Charles Chipman

For more information on how we are building new futures, please review our 2022 Year End Report.