Gandhi-King: A Season for Nonviolence

Santa Barbara Site:

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Us Foundation was on the national and international steering committees for A Season for Nonviolence, A Reverence for Life, a globally unified grassroots movement in commemoration of the 50th and 30th Anniversaries of the Assassinations of M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King. As individuals and as a society, we have evolved to the point where violence is no longer recognized as a viable solution to the chaos we have created and the consequences of this chaos is what we now face. Violent actions and reactions are the scars of social, educational, and economic wounds....the voices of a spiritually inarticulate culture. The practice of nonviolence is initiated by choice and cultivated through agreement. The time has come to agree on this as a global community- as if our lives, and those of our children's children, depended on it. Our vision is of a better world for all human beings. Further, we are determined to base our actions on values firmly rooted in our diverse inner beliefs and traditions. To this end, we undertake  " Gandhi/King: A Season for Nonviolence" by applying our efforts and resources to identifying, then bringing into full public focus the rich spectrum of grassroots projects and programs by individuals and organizations who are pro-actualizing a culture of peace. Us Foundation sponsored a Season for Nonviolence event on January 31, 1998 at Santa Barbara High School. This event, which was opened by Mayor Harriet Miller, featured spokespeople from a variety of religious denominations, music by Kenny Loggins, and inspiring talks by Marianne Williamson and Gay Hendricks. Local nonprofit organizations came together for an ongoing "fair" and several individuals gave mini-workshops around the issue of non-violence. Youth from City at Peace closed the event with song. Us Foundation also sponsored a multimedia essay exhibition to honor this very timely and needed effort on our website under  http://www.usfoundation.org/Gandhi-King. The theme of the essay exhibition is : "What is the Relationship between Human Rights and Nonviolence?" The categories for submission are: 1) Photo Essay, 2) Multimedia, 3) Music, 4) Text. People are requested to submit their entries to the exhibition directly to the website. 1998 was also the 50th anniversary of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There is an alternate version of this by Peace at Home, Inc., adapted into "peoples language."