The 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s FGC Address
In 2008, we honor the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1958 address to FGC titled “Nonviolence and Racial Justice.” Join us for a week in which we will listen to King’s words and reflect on their meaning for each of us today. How can we inspire and support one another to engage that same Spirit which made possible the non-violent activism and profound social change of the early Civil Rights movement? How do King’s words echo in our souls in the 21st century? What is the call today?
Sunday 1:30 pm
Meeting for Worship to listen to Martin Luther King Jr.
Gather with other Friends to open our hearts to the 1958 audio recording of King’s speech, followed by worship-sharing in which we will reflect on those words.
Sunday 7:00 pm
James Lawson
James Lawson says that when he first met Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957 “we discovered we had a great deal in common. . . . But most of all we recognized that we had a common commitment to soul force as the way to help the United States transform itself into a purer form of equality and justice for all.” Invited by King to work in the South, Lawson trained the activists who organized the Nashville lunch-counter sit-ins, and helped coordinate the 1961 Freedom Rides and the 1966 Meredith March. In 1968, King joined him in Memphis, Tennessee, where Lawson was chair of the strategy committee for the sanitation workers strike. His current concerns include immigrant rights and economic justice.
Monday 7:00 pm
Rex Ellis
Powerful African-American storyteller and historian Rex Ellis will tell stories rooted in his experiences growing up in the South during the Civil Rights movement, and will reenact one of King’s speeches.
Thursday Call to Action
Having prepared ourselves by hearing the reflections of others, on Thursday afternoon we will have an opportunity to make plans for current and future action. We will address the question, How is Spirit calling me to act here and now? The afternoon will feature a variety of activities: worship-sharing, discussion, formation of action groups, and sessions focusing on discernment and clarification. Some activities will be planned in advance, others will be developed during the Gathering. If you have an idea or a gift to share which will help focus our attention to the Spirit’s call to action, please let us know.
Excerpts from MLK’s Speech at the FGC Gathering in Cape May, 1958:
Violence only achieves temporary victory; it can never achieve ultimate peace.
[The method of nonviolent resistance] does not seek to defeat and humiliate the opponent but to win his friendship and understanding. . . . The end is redemption; the end is reconciliation. And so the aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.
When we rise to love on this level, we love men not because we like them, not because their ways appeal to us; we love them because God loves them. . . . Love is understanding, redemptive, creative good will for all men. And this is the type of love that I believe goes along with the way of nonviolence. It is a love that somehow redeems and transforms the soul of the opponent.
I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions which take necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism and the self-defeating effects of physical violence. Social progress is never inevitable. . . . It comes only through the persistent work and tireless efforts of dedicated individuals.
