It's impossible to talk about the meaning of the American dream, inclusive of economic prosperity and financial success, without talking about race. California Representative Maxine Waters felt this acutely as she served on a panel at Wayne State College during the Congressional Black Caucus “For the People Job Tour” on August 16, 2011.

When she spoke the words mentioned in the epigraph, Representative Waters was addressing a large audience of African Americans in Detroit who were disgruntled with the state of minority policies but were wary of attacking the first African-American president, Barack Obama. The “conversation” that Representative Waters was referring to was one in which congressional members would ask the president to address rising unemployment rates that had disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities from 2008 to 2011. By using the term “unleash us” she was petitioning the all-black audience not to penalize representatives like herself for speaking up for race-based issues, a dialogue that some could misconstrue as the Democratic Party turning against the president.

Ignoring the irony that a black representative would need permission from black voters to discuss the problems of black unemployment with a black president, Waters made her point: the solution to bringing about economic and political change begins with a conversation about race at the highest levels of government. Interestingly, she did not ask the audience for permission to pass a policy or to amend aspects of the Constitution. She simply wanted to engage in a conversation about the importance race played in the country's economic recovery.

In petitioning the audience to speak about race in government, Maxine Waters also initiated a public discourse in the black community that forced minority citizens to reflect on their roles in aiding or hindering inequality. Thus, Waters was not only trying to shape politicians’ actions with her discourse; she was also trying to alter the perspectives of the American public in general, and racial and ethnic minorities in particular. Representative Waters carried her message to Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Indeed, it was a message that took on two paths of influence: institutional and societal.