How do you define the American Dream? Is that ideal still attainable today? Have you achieved it? At the beginning of the year, we teamed up with KCPT and several other PBS affiliates to find answers. Through our collective social and digital media project called ReDream, we created videos and conversation around what the American Dream means to people today.

From a large number of applicants, we chose eight subjects for the focus of our part of the video series and many of them were present for a special family and friends screening of their videos on April 11, 2016. This was the first time many of them saw the final product and met each other in person.

After watching the videos, they took part in a question and answer panel moderated by Two Way Street and Political Rewind host Bill Nigut.

View Our Photo Gallery Of The Event Here

 

Their ReDreams

Their dreams were varied and each created a unique perspective. From Will Johnston, creator of Tiny House Atlanta to Sallie Ann Robinson, a nurse turned chef originally from Daufuskie Island who found her passion in Gullah style cooking. However, the video subjects shared some common themes.

The idea of less is more rang true for several participants, as over the course of their dreams they realized they didn’t need to keep up with their neighbors.

Others, such as Nasiha Mujkanovic, a Bosnian refugee who found her dream as a teacher and Lynn Chopp, a domestic abuse survivor, were able to achieve their American Dreams by surviving great turmoil.

Finally, there were those such as Dave Moody, of C.D. Moody Construction who found his dream by building his own business.

Watch Their Video Profiles

Note that at the time of this post, six of the eight total videos have been added our channel. The final two will be released in a few weeks and added soon.

Each dream sacrificed something in the participants’ lives but helped them gain much more in the end. And as Lynn Chopp put it, the amazing thing about America is the ability to have dreams. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to dream big or small, for in many parts of the world that is not a possibility.

Get in on our conversation about the American Dream on social media. On Twitter, use the hashtag #MyReDream and on Facebook like the ReDream page.

After watching these videos, has your American Dream changed? What is your dream in 2016?