changemaking

2010-10-07T03:50:00.000-07:00

"Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

dream deferred

2010-10-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Just finished writing an article on black South African women who sell Avon Cosmetics, primarily in townships. Avon calls itself The Company That Empowers Women, encouraging these female "micro-entrepreneurs to "dream big" about their future purchases and identities. These "dream-building" practices inspire many women to work hard selling Avon. But are they likely to become cosmopolitan businesswomen like the Avon ladies in the catalogs? Is this "dream building" or a "dream deferred"?
What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.Or does it explode?(Langston Hughes)

unedited life

changemaking

dream deferred