#creatingleaders

Mission Possible II is more than a title — it’s a declaration that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision is not a relic of the past but a living blueprint for the work we are called to do right now. His commitment to justice, equality, and service offers a moral compass for confronting one of today’s most persistent and overlooked civil rights crises: the inequity of the child welfare system.

Carrying Forward MLK’s Vision

Dr. King taught that injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere. His philosophy of nonviolence was not passive; it was a disciplined, courageous insistence that systems built on harm can be transformed through truth-telling, collective power, and radical love. That same spirit animates the movement to challenge the racialized, punitive practices of CPS — a system that disproportionately surveils, separates, and traumatizes Black, Indigenous, and low-income families.

Where Dr. King confronted segregation, we confront family policing. Where he exposed the violence of Jim Crow, we expose the violence of unnecessary removals, biased investigations, and the criminalization of poverty. Where he called for the Beloved Community, we build it — one family, one neighborhood, one act of solidarity at a time.

Naming the Injustice

The inequity of the CPS system is not accidental. It reflects the same structural racism, economic inequality, and punitive logic that Dr. King fought against. Families are too often punished for conditions created by poverty, denied meaningful support, and silenced by systems that claim to protect children while destabilizing the very communities children need to thrive.

Mission Possible II insists that this is not inevitable. It is a system created by people — and therefore a system that can be changed by people.

Building the Beloved Community

Dr. King described the Beloved Community as a world where:

Injustice ends because communities refuse to tolerate it

Compassion replaces violence in all its forms — physical, emotional, bureaucratic

Love becomes the prevailing force, shaping policy, practice, and human relationships

Mission Possible II translates that vision into action by:

1. Centering Families as Experts

Honoring lived experience as a source of truth, leadership, and transformation.

2. Practicing Nonviolent Systems Change

Using advocacy, organizing, and narrative power to confront harmful policies without replicating harm.

3. Replacing Surveillance with Support

Shifting from punitive responses to community-rooted care, healing, and material resources.

4. Building Collective Power

Uniting parents, youth, advocates, and allies across race, class, and geography to demand a just future.

5. Creating Safety Without State Violence

Developing community-led safety strategies that protect children while preserving family bonds.

A Nation United the Nonviolent Way

Mission Possible II calls us to imagine — and build — a nation where families are not torn apart but held together; where systems do not punish vulnerability but respond with dignity; where justice is not an aspiration but a lived reality.

RESOURCEFUL

“If I had to describe Breakthrough Miami in one word it would be resourceful because it opened up a countless amount of doors for myself and other individuals.”

Meet Lewis, a BTM scholar who recently graduated from Law Enforcement Officers Memorial High School, located in Downtown Miami, in May and one of our Alumni Network’s newest members! Lewis originally got involved with Breakthrough after learning about the program from his mom. When asked about what impact Breakthrough had on himself and his family, Lewis said that the program motivated him to continue to actually try and put fourth an effort in school because the program exposed him to how fun obtaining an education could be.

Lewis advises future and current scholars to not stop attending Breakthrough, as the program may seem tedious and unnecessary at times, because it will all pay off in the long run. His fondest memory with the program occurred on his first day when he was getting off of the bus and was greeted by fun and energetic BTM staff. After being accepted into the University of Miami, University of Central Florida, and Florida State University, Lewis will be attending Syracuse University in the fall. He will also be the first in his family to attend college.

Your Breakthrough Miami Family is so proud of you and the Alumni Network proudly welcomes you Lewis!