WHAT WE DO

Over the course of conducting more than 300 interviews from Georgia to California, from Oregon to Tennessee, ROAD and our partners discovered key similarities in how Americans from a vast variety of communities feel about the idea of the “American Dream”. In fact, at the root of it all, Americans all want the same thing: dignity, basic rights, healthcare, love, happiness. But of course, it’s not as simple as that. In sharing these stories, we find the commonalities between our neighbors, our community members, and fellow Americans we might have never connected with before. 

At the root of it all, we wanted to create a platform that was fully accessible for ALL people to share their message, especially at a time when the mainstream media has left many people feeling left out of the conversation.

Having a story bank that is reflective of the makeup of our nation was a top priority. Our growing collection of American Dream stories features a diverse set of interviewees to show how different communities live and experience the Dream differently. Of our subjects interviewed: 35.1% were Black, 8.9% AAPI, 7.7% Latinx, and more than 3% identified as bi- or multi-racial. We have also collected stories from Native Americans, Caucasian Americans and other Americans.

Throughout our travels, we sat down with community leaders, healthcare workers, immigrants, moms, and Americans from every walk of life. What do a Nigerian immigrant turned actor from Brooklyn, NY and a tattoo artist from Detroit, MI have in common? What do a charter fishing boat captain from Savannah, Georgia and a burlesque dancer from Denver, CO have in common? At the end of the day, we found—a whole lot. 

Join the ROAD movement and submit your story!