Dreams are fundamental because they shape vision, give purpose, and move people to action. They help us imagine what does not yet exist and provide the moral and emotional energy needed to pursue change. Without dreams, there is no direction; without direction, there is no progress. Dreams are often the starting point for justice, transformation, and hope—they are the seeds from which courage, resilience, and collective action grow.
Growing up in Warren, Arkansas, I came of age in a small, close-knit community shaped by segregation, resilience, and hope, a place where dreams were often tested but not easily extinguished. Like Langston Hughes asks in “What Happens to a Dream Deferred,” I, too, lived in a world where dreams could have dried up, sagged under pressure, or been delayed by the harsh realities of the Jim Crow South. Yet my dream was not deferred. It was nurtured by family, faith, education, and a deep sense of justice that refused to be silenced. Those early experiences planted in me a lifelong commitment to stand up, speak out, and work for change. Today, that same dream lives on through MOSES—Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity—which is not separate from my dream but a fulfillment of it. MOSES represents the living answer to Hughes’s question: when a dream is held with purpose and acted upon in the community, it does not wither or explode—it transforms lives and bends the world closer to justice.
My dream for MOSES is bold and unshakable: that it will become a pillar of Madison, rooted so deeply in justice and compassion that its impact can never be erased. I envision a community where there are fewer jails and prisons because we have chosen restoration over punishment, where there are homes for the homeless because dignity is treated as a right, not a privilege, and where policies are shaped by love, fairness, and accountability.
Where education becomes a promise rather than a privilege. It affirms that every child, regardless of race, income, zip code, or circumstance, is worthy of knowledge, opportunity, and dignity.
It breaks cycles of poverty, opens doors that once seemed locked, and equips communities to imagine and build a more just future. When society truly treats education as a right, it invests not only in schools and teachers, but in human potential—recognizing that informed minds are essential to freedom, equity, and lasting change.
As I look into your eyes, I can see into your hearts, and I know this dream does not belong to me alone—it is your dream too. Together, we carry a shared vision of what Madison can and must become. So no matter what people say, no matter the obstacles placed in our path, my dream, your dream, and most importantly MOSES’s dream is not—and will never be—deferred.
Keep dreaming, keep believing and keep doing MOSES!
Saundra Brown, MOSES President
