Dear Fellow Americans,
On August 28, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired America to dream. In one of the great speeches of history, King shared his vision of a country united by its founding principles, its principles applicable to all its citizens, its citizens judged on their individual virtues. As King himself noted, his dream was a reaffirmation of the American Dream, the conviction that freedom begets opportunity and opportunity begets prosperity.
Today, both King’s dream and the American Dream are under assault by a set of ideologies obsessed with race, hostile to merit, contemptuous of our country’s founding ideals, and destructive to our common humanity. A small but vocal minority have employed these illiberal and divisive ideologies to capture our schools and universities, coopt our workplaces, and sway our government. Amplified by the undemocratic power of social media, and masters of intimidation, these ideologues have succeeded in bullying the majority of Americans into silence. And with the acquiescence of silence, they have set us on the path to extinguishing King’s dream.
On Saturday, August 28, 2021, on the anniversary of King’s majestic speech, we come together as a coalition of Americans to renew and rekindle these dreams. While we differ in background and upbringing, and vary in political affiliation and religious beliefs, we share a common sentiment and resolve. We share an unwillingness to stay silent. We share a commitment to fight for free expression. We share a refusal to see King’s dream extinguished.
We share these dreams.
We share the dream of preserving the values embedded in our country’s founding documents and animating the original civil rights movement, and we reject the belief that these values are inherently racist or are the product of racism.
We share the dream of protecting and defending the principles of free speech necessary for an open and democratic society, and we reject the view that the avoidance of individual discomfort outweighs the overwhelming benefit to society of diversity of thought.
We share the dream that all Americans be evaluated solely by their individual talents, efforts, virtue and character, and we reject the notion that Americans be segregated into identity groups or judged because of their placement into any such group.
We share the dream of a fair and prosperous society, and we reject the idea that merit in education or in the workplace should be sacrificed for outcomes defined by racial identification or by any other group affiliation.
We share the dream that our children be taught the moral complexities of history and that they and their teachers be encouraged to speak openly and freely in the classroom, and we reject the climate of indoctrination, intimidation and fear that has become pervasive throughout our public and private education system.
We share the dream that respectful engagement and civil debate on difficult issues can be restored, and we reject the atmosphere of tribalism and polarization promoted by our political parties and by traditional and social media.
We share the dream that the political, business, and educational leaders of our country will regain their courage, reclaim their virtue, and rediscover their civic duties, and we reject the cowardice that has allowed and encouraged a censorious culture to take root.
On August 28, 1963, King also inspired America to act. With the “fierce urgency of now” we share one last dream.
We share the dream that on August 28, 2021, we will stand together in unity and a new movement will be birthed. With the spirit of kinship fundamental to the original civil rights movement, we will reaffirm and reignite the thoroughly American dreams of Martin Luther King.
#DreamCoalition828
Sign the Letter
Original Signers
- Dorian Abbot, University of Chicago
- Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies
- Buck Angel, Buck Angel Entertainment
- Lyell Asher
- David Ben Moshe
- David Bernstein, Jewish Institute for Liberal Values (JILV)
- Harold Black , University of Tennessee (Emeritus)
- Peter Boghossian
- Californians for Equal Rights Foundation
- Liang Chao, Young American Policy Advocates
- Robert Cherry, Brooklyn College
- Yiatin Chu, PLACE NYC
- Jonathan Church, Counterweight
- Chinese American Citizens Alliance Greater New York (CACAGNY)
- Civics Alliance
- Color Us United
- Meghan Daum
- Angel Eduardo
- Elana Fishbein, No Left Turn in Education
- Free Black Thought
- Robert George, Princeton University
- Andrew Gutmann, Institute for Liberal Values
- Samantha Harris, Allen Harris PLLC
- Stephen Harris
- Ismael Hernandez, The Freedom and Virtue Institute
- Jason Hill
- Timothy Jackson, University of North Texas
- Jewish Institute for Liberal Values
- Lee Jussim, Rutgers Professor
- Elina Kaplan, Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies
- Joshua Katz
- Zander Keig, Institute for Liberal Values
- Sergiu Klainerman, Princeton University
- Anna Krylov, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California
- Jason Littlefield
- Ruth Littmann Ashkenazi, Stop CRT
- Glenn Loury, Brown University
- Charles Love, Seeking Educational Excellence
- Maud Maron, PLACE NYC
- Barrington Martin II
- John McWhorter
- Joshua Mitchell, Georgetown University
- Stephen J Morse, University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Al Moses
- National Association of Scholars
- No Left Turn in Education
- Asra Nomani, Parents Defending Education
- Obaid Omer
- Parents Defending Education
- Dennis Patterson
- Steven Pinker, Harvard University
- William Reusch
- Jennifer Richmond, Hold my Drink Podcast
- Paul Robinson, University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Paul Rossi, Educational Liberty Alliance
- Ian Rowe, The Woodson Center - 1776 Unites
- Larry Sand
- Alan Schwartz, Yale Law School
- Jodi Shaw, Integrity Matters
- Abigail Shrier
- Erec Smith, York College of Pennsylvania
- Debra Soh, "The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast"
- Delano Squires, 1776 Unites
- Eli Steele
- Shelby Steele
- Bret Stephens, New York Times
- Carol Swain, Be the People News
- Ruy Teixeira, The Liberal Patriot
- Truth in Between
- Batya Ungar-Sargon
- Eric Wallace, PhD, Freedom's Journal Institute
- Amy Wax, U of Penn Law
- David Wolpe, Sinai Temple
- Woodson Center
- Robert Woodson, Woodson Center
Organization affiliations included for identification purposes only.
Latest Signers
- 190
- Washington Education Association
- Ray Nelson
- Educator
- 189
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Nicholas Tassielli
- Concerned citizen
- 188
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Elizabeth Sipe
- Concerned citizen
- 187
- Writers Guild of America
- Richard Vaczy
- Concerned citizen
- 186
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Judith Kelley
- Concerned citizen
- 185
- REALTOR
- David Leist
- Concerned citizen
- 184
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Philip Skolnick
- Concerned citizen
- 183
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Ben Sears
- Concerned citizen
- 182
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Robert Grobe
- Educator
- 181
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Kristen Niemynski
- Concerned citizen
- 180
- No Organizational Affiliation
- joan Maxwell
- Concerned citizen
- 179
- No Organizational Affiliation
- David Fan
- Concerned citizen
- 178
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Deirdre McTigue
- Concerned citizen
- 177
- No Left Turn
- Pat Frick
- Community Activist
- 176
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Dustin Linn
- Concerned citizen
- 175
- The Johns Hopkins University
- Dr I William & Marie-Danièle Zartman
- Educator
- 174
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Lauren Dykes
- Concerned citizen
- 173
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Carolyn Miller
- Concerned citizen
- 172
- York United
- Julie Edminster
- Community Activist
- 171
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Michael Wagoner
- Concerned citizen
- 170
- No Organizational Affiliation
- David Posthumus
- Concerned citizen
- 169
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Shelley Lieberman
- Concerned citizen
- 168
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Cheryl Cook
- Concerned citizen
- 167
- Sheller PC
- Jamie Sheller
- Concerned citizen
- 166
- No Organizational Affiliation
- Sheri Hand
- Educator
Organization affiliations included for identification purposes only.