Martin Luther King and life after hate
Feb 02, 2012
from the entry by Evelyn Zellerer on Peace of the Circle:
....“The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality.” [Martin Luther King]
....In my peacemaking work, I am always touched when people reach across differences. As King said, “Like life, racial understanding is not something that we find but something that we must create.”
Thankfully, there are organizations helping to create understanding and sharing King’s vision. On this day in 1969, Mrs Coretta Scott King announced the creation of the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center“) in Atlanta. As founder Mrs King said, it’s “a living memorial filled with all the vitality that was his, a center of human endeavor, committed to the causes for which he lived and died.”
....Another inspiring group is Life After Hate, co-founded by former racist skinheads, Christian Picciolini and Arno Michaels. They were pioneers in the skinhead movement in America. Now they’ve created this nonprofit organization dedicated to demonstrating and reinforcing basic human goodness. Two years ago on this day, they launched the first issue of their online e-magazine. Submissions are welcomed.
....Thank you Dr. King for igniting a dream and thanks to all the courageous souls who change reality. If a black man can lead a nation out of segregation and if violent racists can become a voice for equality, what else is possible?
