Gandhi, King, Ikeda Exhibition Opens at Morehouse College
BY ANGELA HARRIS, ELEANOR HUNTER, QUAN SULLIVAN, DONNA TEALER AND LISA
WATTS
ATLANTA CORRESPONDENTS
Hundreds of people of diverse races, religions and cultures gathered
on March 31, for the grand opening of the "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A
Legacy of Building Peace" Exhibition and Interfaith Convocation at
the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in
Atlanta.
The gathering and exhibi-tion celebrated the lives of
three great leaders-Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and SGI
President Daisaku Ikeda-who have fought for a peaceful and nonviolent
society. These three men, from three different cultures and continents,
dedicated their lives to saving and reviving the human race.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the preview opening of the exhibition.
Participants included Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, Morehouse College President
Walter E. Massey, Dr. Lawrence Carter Sr., dean of the chapel, the Reverend
Dr. Michael Beckwith, president of the Agape International Spiritual Center,
and SGI-USA Vice General Director Richard Brown.
Also on hand were local state and city officials, as well as representatives
of various religions and denominations who, alongside the Morehouse College
constituents and SGI-USA members, were presented three separate awards
bearing the Gandhi, King, Ikeda name: the Spiritual Courage, Liberty and
Courage of Conscience awards.
The Spiritual Courage award was presented to people of different faith
traditions. Buddhist, Bahá'í, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, New
Thought and Unity believers were given the award to thank them for their
continuous work in their respective organizations and for getting their
members to participate side-by-side in this event.
The Liberty award was presented to government officials instrumental in
changing the design of the Georgia state flag. The new design is helping
to bring about a new feeling amongst Georgia citizens, who were at odds
over the Confederate symbol, which is now at the bottom of the flag. Shrinking
the Confederate symbol and placing it at the bottom of the flag help depict
a portion of Southern tradition and history, rather than representing
the entire population.
The Courage of Conscience award was presented to the Mayor of Atlanta
and the Governor of Georgia. The two were both instrumental in uniting
the citizens in the Southeastern United States-Mayor Bill Campbell for
initiating interfaith meetings that began in 1999 and Governor Roy Barnes
for his work on the new flag.
Mayor Campbell commented that, through the exhibition, he hoped the public
will "gain a better understanding and appreciation for the global
nature of the struggle for freedom."
-Nicole D. Collier contributed
to this article.
First GKI Community
Builders Award presented
GKI visits Columbus Ohio.
Click here to view the GKI Exhibit Brochure Page
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