When Justice Rolls Down - The Community Investment Network

Written by Dr. Claire Gaudiani, Clinical Professor, George H. Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, New York University

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called for justice to roll down like mighty waters into American society. The dream he shared has come closer to reality in the last 40 years. The election of Barack Obama both electrifies and conceals this emerging reality. The generation of African Americans who never saw King alive is a product of the social and cultural change he and others held up as America’s future. They are - like President Obama the old-time beloved community' and also very modern philanthropists, giving back every day. They are the embodiment of the twenty-first century dream for all Americans. Most of us just haven’t met them yet.

America is closer to being the nation where blacks are not "judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." We are not altogether there yet, but the benefits of such justice are already strengthening our society.

The beautiful two-story Palladium-windowed family room of Darryl and Dionne Lester was filled with about two dozen thirty-something, college-educated professionals browsing over trays heaped with food to suit every taste. Like the Lesters, all were African Americans, homeowners working in a variety of industries from high-tech companies to a barber shop. All are philanthropists. All proud of the great tradition that brought them here and proud of their work together now. They expressed sadness and a sense of loss that they had never seen King when he was alive. They also expressed a keen understanding that they were living his dream. They acknowledged that this fact had motivated them to become philanthropists so young in their careers.

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