The mission of Realizing the Dream is "To champion freedom, justice, and equality by working to eliminate poverty, build community and foster peace through nonviolence."
Two of Realizing the Dream's main projects are the 50 Communities Network, an effort against American poverty, and the Generation II Global Peace Initiative, a peace-building team composed of sons, daughters and grandchildren of leading 20th century activists.
The domestic aspect of the program is the Poverty in America project, which "is a national call to leadership aimed at fueling local efforts to ignite sustainable private investment in communities carrying the legacy of the King name."
Jack Kemp, Congressman John Lewis, Jim Wallis of Sojourners, former Senator Harris Wofford, Thomas Sander of Harvard University, Alan Khazei of Be the Change, Inc. and Dorothy Stoneman of YouthBuild.
At the "Realizing the Dream Awards" during President Obama's inauguration weekend in January 2009, the organization honored Congressman John Lewis with the 'Drum Major Award' for his lifetime of work for civil rights and nonviolence; others honored at the same event included Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Reverend Claude Black of San Antonio and democracy-activist Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.