An Achievable Dream - Real Christian Values in Action

Last night the boyfriend and I attended the 21st annual Tennis Ball fundraiser for The Achievable Dream Academies along with 950 other people.  The Achievable Dream was founded by late the Walter Segaloff who died this summer.  Walter and his wife was/is a client of the boyfriend's salon.  They are wonderful people.  As I noted shortly after his death, here's how Walter got the idea for what has turned out to be an amazing program that will be extending to Virginia Beach next year:

In an interview earlier this year, Segaloff said he got the idea for An Achievable Dream when he watched from his car as police handcuffed three teens.  "I felt there's no American dream here," he said in the interview. "It isn't happening."  He said he had also noticed that his family's stores had trouble hiring workers because many applicants didn't know how to act or speak in an interview. He said he wanted to change that.

For all of the far right's and the GOP's talk of the "American Dream," the reality is than their vision doesn't extend to minorities, especially blacks.  In my years of education activism in Virginia Beach, I was often infuriated by the attitude that poor black children couldn't learn and were not able to achieve.   The Achievable Dream academies have turned this prophesy on its head and destroyed this bigoted mindset that would happily relegate countless children to a life of crime and poverty.  And what struck me most about the event last night was that although Walter Segaloff was a wealthy man, unlike so many to me disgusting "celebrities" - the Kardashian family springs to mind - he gave back to the community constantly. 

Moreover, although Walter was Jewish, he far better exemplified fulfilling the Gospel message than so many of the self-congratulatory falsely pious folk.   Think what could be done for the poor and disadvantaged with the money that anti-gay, thinly veiled white supremacist "family values" groups like The Family Foundation, Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage use to enrich their leaders and disseminate hate and bigotry. 

Last night was a wonderful event and very uplifting.  The businesses that donated items for the auction (like a $90,000 Jaguar)  were amazingly generous.  Especially, the Jewish owned business.  But I could not help but wonder to myself, where are the Christofascists?   They were nowhere to be seen.  Meanwhile, I feel very, very lucky to have known Walter Segaloff.