The challenge for those of us who share Dr. King's dream is clear. We have to pick up the cross that he dared to carry for us. It is time for us to complete his journey. It is time for us to reestablish an encampment in Washington from which to launch our own style of lobbying and nonviolent confrontational activity with those who are establishing the policies that are feeding militarism, materialism (economic exploitation), and racism. It is time for the people of the cities and towns of our country, frustrated with the downward spiral of life, to rise up and take part in the siege of Washington. While our issues and needs are many, we must lay siege to our federal government until it demilitarizes, creates a fair taxation policy, and develops governmental policies which are designed to eliminate the effects of racism, the disparities between people of color and whites.. Until we can accomplish this goal, our needs will remain unmet and Dr. King's dream will remain deferred.

Demands of the Fund the Dream Campaign

A) Gathering the Resources

Militarism: Cut Spending for War

Immediately begin the process of demilitarization by adopting the position of the Democratic Party Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus that the budget be cut by $100 billion dollars.

Last year, one half of our discretionary budget as a country was devoted to finance the military industrial complex in its pursuit of corporate welfare and world domination through the budget allocations to the Defense Department. Three hundred and fifty billion of our discretionary budget went to defense. All the other discretionary categories were financed out of the remaining three hundred and fifty billion. The leading category of social spending was education at fifty billion. In order, to give an illustration of the woeful inadequacy of this amount for education, let me cite two examples.