A New Movement for a New Century 2008 Annual Report letter from the founder ometimes, dreams Scome true. One year ago, that’s all Green For All was. We had nothing but a three-page proposal, a matching grant from the Kendeda Fund, three overwhelmed staff- Benjamin L. Hooks’ Memphis Job Corps Choir opens the ers (Kristin Rothballer, conference with music. Courtney Hull and me), and some donated cubi- cle space at the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, California. And yet we felt a powerful calling. We knew an Earth-honoring economy could also deliver more work, more wealth and better health to disadvantaged people than our present pollution-based economy. We envi- sioned a new economy that could simultaneously beat global warming – and make Dr. King proud. With the help of Sustainable South Bronx founder Majora Carter, we decided to birth a national organiza- tion to advance the cause. One year later, Green For All is real – and we have helped put green collar jobs on the map. This report A Massachusetts youth tells his dream at the video booth, shares just a handful of our successes, so far. which recorded more than a hundred dreams during the conference. We have a long way to go. But today we have a strong organization to help get us there. And fortunately, we won’t be alone. A new move- ment has been born. It includes groups like 1Sky, Apollo Alliance, Energy Action Coalition, Corps Network, Blue-Green Alliance, Al Gore’s Alliance For Climate Pro- tection, Center on Wisconsin Strategies, Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change, Social Venture Network, Center for American Progress and many, many more. It also includes President-elect Barack Obama, who pledged to invest $150 billion in energy solutions and create five million green-collar jobs. That dream won’t be easy to make real. On election More than 1100 people atended The Dream Reborn — and night, Obama himself said: “This victory alone is not the more than 70% were people of color. change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.” Amen. Green For All looks forward to working with you in 2009 and beyond, to create a green wave that can lift all boats. Van Jones Founder & President, Green For All The Hot 8 Brass Band marches in on Saturday night at The Dream Reborn THE DREAM REBORN Carrying Dr. King’s Legacy into the 21st Century On April 4, 1968, a bullet killed the dreamer. But it didn’t kill the dream. It has been 40 years since Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. His dream has often seemed far from reach. But it has never been far from the hearts and minds of millions of poor people, people of color and people of conscience in America. On April 4, 2008, in the city where he died, more than 1,100 people came together at The Dream Reborn summit to renew a national commitment to that dream. At the historic three-day conference, grassroots leaders and Civil Rights Movement veterans from across the country declared the green-collar movement a worthy successor to Dr. King’s work. With one voice, they said that honoring Dr. King today means working for an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift millions of people out of poverty. In 1963, Dr. King looked out on a divided coun- But an educational program was not enough. To try and articulated a hopeful vision of the future that be truly successful, we knew we would have to evoke united millions of people. This year, we’ve seen again the spirit of Dr. King and his movement. So from the that hope can bring a divided nation together. This was main stage, we heard drums, prayers, choirs, poetry, and most obvious in the historic election of Barack Obama speeches reminiscent of 1960s civil rights mobilizations. as President. But it was also evident on an April week- From the audience, we heard cheers, chants, shouts — end in Memphis, where hundreds of everyday people sometimes, even sobs. Afterwards, people described remembered Dr. King and dared to dream a new, green the conference as “transcendent” and “church-like”. dream for the next generation. It was a magical weekend, uniting future and past WHAT IT MEANT and tying generation to generation across time. Forty years after Dr. King’s death, a new movement for justice and inclusion has been born. The Dream WHO WAS THERE Reborn will forever be remembered as the start date Before the conference even began, we knew it of the movement for an equitable green economy, one would be special because of who was coming. More strong enough to solve the ecological crisis while lifting than 70 percent of the participants were people of millions of people out of poverty. color, making The Dream Reborn the first nationalgreen For several years now, people and organizations conference that was also brown. More than half were have been finding ways to fight poverty and pollution at people of modest means, whom Green For All and our the same time. But it wasn’t until April 2008 that they supporters helped attend with $140,000 in scholar- came together as a movement. At The Dream Reborn, ships. And our outreach had focused on practitioners hundreds of people who had felt alone and isolated — people involved in the day-to-day work of building a green-collar economy from the ground up — ensuring in their work connected with one another. Not just that the weekend would be grounded in today’s reality by getting each other’s phone numbers, or becoming while dreaming of a better future. Facebook friends (though those things, too, of course). They connected at a human level, sharing a deep love WHAT WE DID for other people and for the planet. And together, they sparked a movement that is destined to transform the We wanted The Dream Reborn to be a springboard entire country. for a national green-collar movement. That meant it needed to be both substantive and spirited, informative This movement knows that it stands on the shoul- and inspiring. It was everything we hoped for. ders of giants like Dr. King. He once said that the arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice. That The speakers, panelists and workshop leaders were extraordinary. The plenaries and keynotes laid arc also ties us to him, a bond that The Dream Reborn out a positive vision for the future and big-picture revealed (again), strengthened and celebrated. analysis of the present. The workshops delved into It also ties us to the future — a better future that the nuts and bolts of building the new economy. And we can feel waiting just over the horizon. Right now, the participants stayed engaged at every step. Dur- that future is a dream. And at The Dream Reborn, we ing the sessions, the halls were ghost towns as people saw once more what Dr. King showed us almost half a crammed into discussions and workshops, eager to century ago — that powerful dreams can reshape reality learn and share their wisdom. and bend history in a new direction. 3 THE FOUR PILLARS Green For All’s goal is to help build a robust, powerful, comprehensive movement for an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Our strategy for getting there is based on ‘The Four Pillars’ — four areas of activity that work together to support the beautiful movement we are building. ‘BOTTOM-UP’ ‘TOP-DOWN’ working at the local level working at the federal level uccess at the federal level won’t mean much if the Sgreen economy is not growing at the local level in he ecological and economic crises are national cities across the country. Green For All is dedicated to Tproblems requiring national solutions. Whether we helping cities find ways to attract green-collar busi- make it through as a country will depend in large part nesses and create green-collar jobs. on what the federal government decides to fund and how it makes the rules. Green For All is going to help ‘BOTTOM-UP’ HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR it make those decisions. Green For All aims to impact • GREEN JOBS PLEDGE: Launched the Local Gov- federal policy and build broad, strong alliances that can ernment Green Jobs Pledge, a tool to get cities to work for our shared vision. Already, we are becoming a commit to green-collar job creation. force in Washington. • U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS: Persuaded the U.S. Conference of Mayors, representing more than ‘TOP-DOWN’ HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR 1,200 mayors nationwide, to adopt the Local Gov- • THE CLEAN ENERGY CORPS: Co-authored the ernment Green Jobs Pledge. Clean Energy Corps White Paper calling for a • GREEN CITIES PROGRAM: Launched our Green ground-breaking national green service, job-training Cities Program, which works closely with local lead- and job-creation program. (See p. 6) ers in select cities to develop robust and aggressive • CLIMATE EQUITY ALLIANCE: Convened the Climate green economic development plans. So far, we Equity Alliance, a powerful partnership working to are working with Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ensure that vulnerable Americans are at the center Seattle and Atlanta. (See below) of federal climate policy. (See below) • RETROFIT AMERICA’S CITIES PROGRAM: • GREEN JOBS ACT: Helped pass the Green Jobs Launched a ‘Retrofit America’s Cities’ program, in Act, which authorized $125 million per year for the partnership with MacArthur Genius Fellow Joel Rog- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker ers.