In August of 2009, on a road trip that would take us to Toledo, Ohio, and into Connecticut for our wedding, my husband and I spent the first night of our trip in Atlanta. More than anything, I wanted to visit the King Center.I was not disappointed in what I found there, and it was gratifying to see that the center was now accompanied by a National Historic Site facility as well. This had been added from when my husband had last been there.
One thing about the National Historic Site that kind of took me off guard was how closely they tied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Mahatma Gandhi. I was not surprised, but it was one of those, "...of course" moments.
It made perfect sense that it would honor Gandhi as the inspiration behind King's non-violent resistance.I have been a student of Gandhi and King from the time that I had gone to battle with my church over my changing world view. One of the first books that I read as I sought to expand my understanding of how religion and privilege went hand-in-hand had been Mel White's "Religion Gone Bad."
In his book White talked extensively about how King and Gandhi had been the driving force behind him as he founded the activist organization, Soulforce.
To say the experience at the King Center and the National Historic Site was humbling somehow sells it short. A better word would be reverent. More than a museum, it felt like I was walking on hallowed ground, and standing in the shadow of two men who exhibited a rare kind of humanity that only comes once in a generation.Indexing for This Topic:
"Cause for Optimism"
No comments:
Post a Comment