Operation HOPE and City of Memphis Continue Dream Forward Momentum at HOPE Global Forums Annual Meeting

Civic and Business Leaders Convened Last Month in Atlanta to Drive Continued Effort to Build a New Economic Business Plan for America that Advances Opportunity and Prosperity for All Americans

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Operation HOPE and the City of Memphis announced today that the historic Dream Forward summit convened in Memphis on April 4, 2025, continued last month in Atlanta during the Annual Meeting of the HOPE Global Forums, advancing the national effort to create a bold, inclusive economic plan for America inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Atlanta convening served as a continuation of the Dream Forward dialogue launched at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on the 57th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The session reinforced the shared commitment to bringing Dr. King’s vision of economic justice into actionable strategies for financial empowerment, wealth creation, and expanded opportunity across communities.

The Atlanta session was led by Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant, Memphis Mayor Paul Young, Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of The King Center, and civil rights icon Ambassador Andrew J. Young, and brought together leaders from business, policy, and academia to deepen and refine the Dream Forward framework.

A special presentation featured Dr. Caroline Fohlin, Professor of Economics at Emory University, and Sam Cherribi, Visiting Faculty and Adjunct Professor at Emory University, who offered economic context and research-driven insights to help guide the next phase of the Dream Forward initiative.

The Atlanta gathering reaffirmed that the Dream Forward initiative is an ongoing process that will continue through additional convenings, academic collaboration, and public-private partnerships. To view the updated business plans and whitepapers discussed and for more information about Dream Forward, visit operationhope.org/dream-forward.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Contacts

Operation HOPE Contact:
Bill Mendel, Mendel Communications

(917) 664-1796