A MOREHOUSE COLLEGE VIRTUAL E VENT
35th Annual
Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity The Origins of Our Discontents: A Nonviolent Moral Cosmopolitan Perspective
wednesday, april 7, 2021 at 7 p.m. worldhouse wednesday interfaith assembly thursday, april 8, 2021 at 11 a.m. benjamin elijah mays induction crown forum
AT L AN TA, GE ORGIA
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Morehouse College
Program
The Reverend Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. Presiding Founding Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Religion
[] Prelude
Dr. David Francis Oliver
“Crown Him with Many Crowns” arr. Abin C. Wentworth
Call to Order
The Reverend Dean Carter Sr.
The Roll Call
Dr. Uzee Brown Jr.’72 Professor and Chair, Division of Creative and Performing Arts, Morehouse College
The Charge
The Reverend Dean Carter Sr.
2021 Class of Inductees into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers, Sponsors, and Collegium of Scholars Victor Dee Agee Kenneth Lamont Alexander ’92 Renard Darnell Allen Jr. ’09 Lincoln Emmanuel Barnett ’11 Nicholas Bassey ’98 Cameron C. Beatty Henry Allen Belin Jr. Dionne P. Boissiere Robert H. Bolton Jr. ’86 Tammy L. Bolton Belvie Herbert Brice Heber Brown III John Richard Bryant Cecelia Williams Bryant Rashad ReNard Burgess Brian A. Burt Philip Reed-Butler ’08 William Craig “Bill” Campbell Jawanza Eric Clark David D. Clemons Monica Anita Coleman Shakira Sanchez-Collins Sylvia Fields Cook Brittney Chante Cooper Anat Sultan-Dadon James Wesley Dennis III ’13 Julian DeShazier ’05 Kaji Spellman Dousa Monique M. Dozier Quardricos Bernard Driskell ’05
Stacey Lynn Edwards-Dunn Marla Faye Frederick Stephen Carl Finley Earle J. Fisher Michael J. Fisher Cheryl Townsend Gilkes Henry Melvin Goodgame ’84 Robert Wayne Gordon ’93 Aaron Graham Demetris Allen Green Sr. ’88 Stephen Avare’ Green ’14 Neichelle R. Guidry James R. Hall ’57 Adrienne S. Harris Raynal “Shaka” Harris Jr. ’91 Napoleon J. Harris V. Gerald Lloyd Hector Derek Scott Hicks Brian Keith Hodges Clarence O. Hollis Pearl Hollis Tracey Elaine Hucks David Jefferson Sr. David Jefferson Jr. ’99 Andre E. Johnson Derik Jones Dale Elton Jones ’82 Yolanda Jones Clarence Laney Jr. Donald Stephen Lewis Jr.
Tamara Elisabeth Lewis Pamela R. Lightsey Vanessa Lovelace Hebert Robinson Marbury Lester Agyei McCorn ’88 Charles Wesley McKinney Jr. ’89 Leonard Cornell McKinnis II Lukata Agyei Mjumbe ’00 Darnell Moore David Edward Morrow ’80 Kevin Rashad Murriel Elizabeth “Beth” Neville Kwame Edwin Otu Angela N. Parker Clarence J. Parks ’86 George Lewis Parks Jr. Felicia Murphy-Phillips Anthony Louis Pinder ’85 Fulton Porter III ’89 Maurice Sentel Porter ’07 Wilbur T. Purvis III Melvin Burt Rahming Craig Thomas Robinson Jr. ’08 Valerie Montgomery Rice Melva L. Sampson Sherman Wesley Scott Irie Lynne Session Braxton Deonte Shelley Emma Jordan-Simpson Angela D. Sims
Introduction of Speaker Musical Selection
Calvin Taylor Skinner Teresa Lynn Smallwood Abraham Smith KZ Smith Mitiz J. Smith Shanell T. Smith Shively T.J. Smith Dianne Stewart Kevin Lyle Strickland Louis Wade Sullivan ’54 E. Ginger Sullivan Larry Tatum Melech Emmanuel Minkah Thomas Jacqueline Annette Thompson Willie J. Thompson Jr. George Thorn Itihari Toure Emilie Maureen Townes Mossi K. Tull ’95 Jason Lawrence Turner Beverly Rose Wallace LaKeesha Walrond Michele Eyvonne Watkins Anne Wimbush Watts Derrick Maurice White Damon P. Williams Khalia J. Williams Gerald “Jay” Lamar Williams Almeda Michelle Wright
The Reverend Michael A. Walrond Jr.’93 Senior Pastor, First Corinthian Baptist Church, Harlem, NY Morehouse College Glee Club
“Climbing Up the Mountain” arr. Stacey Gibbs
Sermon
“The Origins of Our Discontents: The Paradox of the Preexisting”
The Reverend Dr. LaKeesha Walrond President, New York Theological Seminary New York, NY
Unveiling of Portrait
And Then Shall the Trumpets Sound
Dean Carter
College Hymn *
“Dear Old Morehouse” J.O.B. Mosley ’29
Dr. David Edward Morrow ’80, Professor of Music/Director, Morehouse College Glee Club/Academic Program Director of Music Dr. David Francis Oliver, Morehouse College Organist 35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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The Occasion To Celebrate the Twenty-first Anniversary of the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute for Global Ethics and Reconciliation [] Today, we gather to celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of the Gandhi-King-Ikeda (GKI) Institute for Global Ethics and Reconciliation, a program that focuses on meditation, conflict transformation, and peace. As we work together locally and globally to create a legacy of nonviolent teachings, it will be an audacious challenge calling for justice, peace and compassion for the children of the world. We must be the change we wish to see. We celebrate the immortal spirits of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. and the living wisdom of Daisaku Ikeda that emanate from the times and places of their lives into the future and throughout the entire world. We must be the change we wish to see. We honor the founding of the GKI Institute to heal and revive human hearts and minds deeply wounded by violent ideologies and inequalities to open the way for a new chapter in human history. We must be the change we wish to see. We celebrate the creation of the GKI Institute because the Mahatma demonstrated unconditional love in recognizing the need for training and discipline that has also served as a cornerstone for the work of King and Ikeda. They exhibited an awareness that it is only by developing the discipline of self-control that people truly understand the science and spirituality of nonviolence and use it to overcome their weaknesses and realize their own strength. We must be the change we wish to see. We advance the personalities and principles of Gandhi, King, and Ikeda for their exalted way of peaceful living, inspired by a deep sense of compassion; and because of their commitment to creative social reform, leading people
to develop global networks of peace and spiritual solidarity. We must be the change we wish to see. We forge a mission to link the “love-olutions” of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Daisaku Ikeda, so that the three may come together at this hour to transform the old world into a new WorldHouse of moral citizenship, tolerance, respect for difference, and diversity—maturity grounded in spiritual oneness. We must be the change we wish to see. We commemorate the life, legacy, and character of the barefoot saint of India who believed in the immense spiritual and religious potential that resides equally in each of us. His legacy inspired King and Ikeda to become prophets of inner spiritual transformation for individuals and communities that has sparked reformations in politics, education, economics, and cultures as well as, reconciliation between nations, races and religions. We cannot have what we are not willing to be. We do not get what we desire, we get what we are. Therefore, because the Mahatma’s spiritual legacy is one of humanity’s priceless treasures, we, the people of the planet, strengthen our numerical forces at this critical juncture in history to accelerate the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute for Global Ethics and Reconciliation in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College and the global movement for peace and nonviolence. Today we teach activism, nonviolence, optimism, and populism in the spirit of Gandhi, King, and Ikeda promoting a holistic vision for the growth, health, safety, and wellbeing of our evolving beloved economic and political world community. Our vision is the creation of a global society in which the full development of each individual’s potential is the central goal.
Adapted from the dedicatory Litany to establish the Gandhi Institute, April 2, 2000.
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Morehouse College
From the President of the College
Welcome from the President These are exciting times at Morehouse College! In the midst of the pandemic many followers are stepping forward to demonstrate their support of our students and our unique mission “to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service.” It is my privilege to welcome you to the Virtual 35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity. The Reverend Dean Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., his staff and other Morehouse team members have worked consistently to make this a memorable experience for each of you and your constituents. I encourage you to invite your followers to celebrate with you by viewing the scheduled programs on the Morehouse YouTube Channel. As the twelfth president of Morehouse College, I could not be more proud and encouraged by the stellar group of exemplars in this 2020-2021 group of Inductees and this year’s Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize recipient, Dr. Robert Cummings Neville. I am also excited to welcome The Reverend Dr. LaKeesha Walrond, the first woman and African American president of the New York Theological Seminary and the first woman preacher to address a cohort of inductees for this event. The state of our nation and world highlight the need for the positive impact that each of you bring toward a more peaceful and just planet for the present and future. I invite you to review our 2021-2026 Strategic Plan on the Morehouse website to learn more about our vision for the future of the College. On behalf of the entire Morehouse College community, I applaud your ongoing efforts toward collectively realizing “the Beloved Community” envisioned by our most prominent alumnus, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We each have a prominent role to play at this critical moment in history. Let us redouble our efforts to make the difference that justifies our presence in the here and now on behalf of generations yet unborn. Sincerely,
David A. Thomas, Ph.D. Twelfth President, Morehouse College
Morehouse College:
“Demonstrating Acuity ... Practicing Integrity ... Exhibiting Agency ... Committing to Brotherhood and Leading Consequential Lives” 35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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From the Dean of Chapel
FROM THE DEAN OF CHAPEL
Welcome from the Dean We are honored to welcome you to the Virtual 35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers and Laity. Our theme for 2021 is, “The Origins of Our Discontents: A Nonviolent Moral Cosmopolitan Perspective.” This year is pivotal as the world slowly and methodically emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of challenge and change, our compassion, cooperation and adaptability has faced extraordinary tests. The world is in need of leaders like you more than ever before and we are pleased to acknowledge your accomplishments at this seminal time in history. We will host the WorldHouse Wednesday Interfaith Assembly at 7pm, April 7th. The 2021 Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize will be conferred upon Dr. Robert Cummings Neville, Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Theology and Daniel L. Marsh Chapel who will serve as our special guest speaker. Oil portraits of Dr. Neville will be unveiled as a part of the assembly. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Induction Crown Forum ceremony Thursday, April 8th at 11am will feature as our preacher The Reverend Dr. LaKeesha Walrond, President, New York Theological Seminary and Executive Pastor, First Corinthian Baptist Church, Harlem, New York. Dr. Walrond’s oil portrait will be unveiled during the ceremony. This year, we honor the contributions of 119 public leaders from a variety of contextual and professional backgrounds as they are inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers, Board of Sponsors and Collegium of Scholars. The two days of events center in accentuating the moral cosmopolitan commitment, a concept requiring much reflection, dialogue and dedication, especially in today’s global climate of change and increasing tensions. The citations inductees receive include 42 Normative Philosophical Personalist Social Ethical Options, which will help enhance their understanding of the foundation for the charge to continue a life of faithfulservant-scholar-adaptive-transformative-leadership. Our virtual format is also driven by the beginning of construction toward the Chapel’s Restoration and we are grateful to the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation for serving as the lead funder for this much needed upgrade. I call your attention to other sponsors and partners included in the souvenir program booklet, which will be available along with the virtual program on the Morehouse College YouTube Channel. We are energized and gratified by your participation, encouraged by your ongoing activities and optimistic about our common future driven by your examples of creative and inclusive willingness that help transform the world toward peace, justice and healing through nonviolent means. Sincerely,
Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. 33ËšPh.D., D.D., D.H., D.R.S., D.H.C., MULT. Founding Dean of the Chapel, Professor of Religion, College Archivist and Curator Founder, Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute for Cosmopolitan Ethics and Reconciliation Director, Martin Luther King Jr. College of Pastoral Leadership Chairman, Howard Thurman Spiritual Educational Trust Director, WorldHouse Academy Co-Founder, Covenant 4
Morehouse College
The Reverend LaKeesha Walrond, Ph.D. Educator, visionary leader, sought after speaker, and consummate change agent, Dr. LaKeesha Walrond is a force faithfully encouraging those she encounters to embody their infinite possibilities. In June of 2019, she became the first woman and first African American woman president of New York Theological Seminary, committed to preparing faith and thought leaders to engage relevant, restorative, and revolutionary ministry. A native Texan, Dr. Walrond earned her undergraduate degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA., a Master of Education, Master in School Administration, and Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, NY. Dr. Walrond has a passion for children and education. She worked in the public school system in North Carolina for eleven years as a teacher, a coordinator for special education programs, an assistant principal, and as a principal. Dr. Walrond is a dynamic speaker who has addressed a number of national and international audiences. She has received numerous recognitions including honors by the New York Liberty team of the WNBA Basketball Association, the National Action Network, the McDonald’s GospelFest, National Council of Negro Women, NAACP, her alma mater, Spelman College, and Union Theological Seminary. She served on the board of trustees at Union Theological Seminary for three years. Mayor Bill de Blasio named October 26, 2019, “Rev. LaKeesha Walrond Day” in the city of New York. Dr. Walrond answered her call to the ministry in December of 1995 and has fully embraced the calling that God has placed
on her life. She began her journey in ministry by serving as an associate minister at Zion Temple United Church of Christ in North Carolina for six years. She served as the executive pastor and chief of staff of First Corinthian Baptist Church (FCBC) in Harlem, NY for thirteen years. As chief of staff, she used educational and organizational strategies to maximize FCBC’s capacity and influence in the community and abroad. As executive pastor, she implemented strategies to create a culture of learning which evolved into a community of learners. In an effort to authentically reach the hearts of women, Dr. Walrond launched the Getting to Greatness Women’s Conference (G2G) in 2013. G2G holds conferences, retreats, workshops, and panel discussions promoting women’s empowerment, leadership development, and spiritual, mental and psychological wellness. Reaching thousands of women nationwide, the G2G conferences have been held in New York, Florida, South Carolina, Canada, the Bahamas, Arizona, and Washington, DC. She is the author of two books. My Body is Special (2017) is the first of her six-part “Let’s Talk About It” (LTAI) children’s book series. Written to help end sexual violence against children, this book provides parents, children, and child advocates with problem solving tools to prevent unhealthy touching. Her first e-book, Stronger Than Your Worst Pain: A Spiritual Guide to Activating Your Inner Power (2018), empowers women to recognize their passion, power and potential to overcome life’s most difficult challenges. Dr. Walrond is happily married to The Reverend Michael A. Walrond Jr. and they are blessed to be the proud parents of two beautiful children: Michael III, and Jasmyn Dominique.
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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CHARGE TO THE
2021 CML INDUCTEES I am pleased today to induct you into the Morehouse College prophetic religious tradition – founded in 1867 by William Jefferson White, greatly enhanced by Henry Lyman Morehouse, Charles Thomas Walker, John Hope, and Adam Daniel Williams, and widely acclaimed during the tenure of Benjamin Elijah Mays. As members of the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers, Board of Sponsors, and Collegium of Scholars, you join a pantheon of leaders whose ethically and spiritually moral example has helped change the world. Among them: Charles Radford Lawrence, Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, Howard Washington Thurman, Floyd McKissick, Samuel Woodrow Williams, Martin Luther King Sr., Martin Luther King Jr., and Thomas Kilgore Jr. I charge you, therefore, to follow in their footsteps – and even to do greater things – as affirmative, appreciative, coherently critical and engaged role models for this generation of students, always remembering that our vision is the creation of an inclusive, global, dignitarian society in which the full development of each individual’s potential is realized.
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Further, I charge you to be faithful servant scholar leaders, guarantors of continuity, celebrators of change, negotiators of structure, facilitators of meaning, practitioners of cosmopolitan ethics, and co-creators of the Beloved Economic Political Cosmic Community, to the end that we will right the age-old wrongs that continue to haunt the American people and others around the globe. Finally, I charge you to use your time, talent, tender, and technology to help usher in an age of diversity maturity, peace, and nonviolence for the children of the world, to raise another generation of ethically inspired leaders committed to building the Beloved Cosmic Community. In token of our hope and confidence in you, we present these citations, which list 44 global ethical principles by which Martin Luther King Jr. and many Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, and scientists live their lives and transform society. Testifying to this investiture, and in witness whereof under the seals of the College and the Chapel, the signatures of duly authorized officers are hereunto affixed, this 8th day of April 2021, Per Dominum Nostrum Jesum Christum.
Morehouse College
Martin Luther King Jr.
BOARD OF PREACHERS
Inductees
Victor D. Agee
Kenneth L. Alexander
Renard Allen Jr.
Dionne Boissiere
Belvie Brice
Heber Brown III
John Richard Bryant
Cecelia Williams-Bryant
David D. Clemons
Shakira Sanchez-Collins
James Wesley Dennis III
Julian DeShazier
Kaji Spellman Dousa
Quardricos Bernard Driskell
Stacey Lynn Edwards-Dunn
Earle Fisher
Michael J. Fisher
Aaron Graham
Brian Keith Hodges
David Jefferson Sr.
Stephen Green
Napoleon Harris
Lincoln Emmanuel Barnett
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
Henry Allen Belin Jr.
David Jefferson Jr.
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Martin Luther King Jr.
BOARD OF PREACHERS
Inductees
Derik Jones
George Lewis Parks Jr.
Irie Lynne Session
Larry Tatum
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Clarence Laney Jr.
Lukata Agyei Mjumbe
Kevin Rashad Murriel
Fulton Portor III
Maurice Sentel Porter
Wilbur T. Purvis III
Craig Thomas Robinson Jr.
Emma Jordan-Simpson
Calvin Taylor Skinner
KZ Smith
Kevin Lyle Strickland
Melech Emmanuel Minkah Thomas
Jacqueline Annette Thompson
Derrick Maurice White
Damon P. Williams
Morehouse College
Willie J. Thompson Jr.
Gerald “Jay” Lamar Williams
Clarence J. Parks
Jason Lawrence Turner
Martin Luther King Jr.
BOARD OF SPONSORS
Inductees
Nicholas M. Bassey
Robert H. Bolton Jr.
Tammy L. Bolton
Rashad Burgess
William Craig “Bill” Campbell
Sylvia Fields Cook
Anat Sultan-Dadon
Monique M. Dozier
Henry Melvin Goodgame
Demetris Allen Green Sr.
James R. Hall
Pearl Boyd Hollis
Dale Elton Jones
Yolanda Jones
Donald Stephen Lewis Jr.
Darnell Moore
Felicia Murphy-Phillips
Elizabeth “Beth” Neville
E. Ginger Sullivan
George Thorn
Mossi K. Tull
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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Martin Luther King Jr.
COLLEGIUM OF SCHOLARS
Inductees
Cameron C. Beatty
Brian A. Burt
Phillip Reed-Butler
Jawanza Eric Clark
Monica Anita Coleman
Brittney Chante Cooper
Stephen Carl Finley
Marla Faye Frederick
Cheryl Townsend Gilkes
Robert Wayne Gordon
Neichelle R. Guidry
Adrienne S. Harris
Raynal “Shaka” Harris Jr.
Gerald Lloyd Hector
Clarence O. Hollis
Tracey Elaine Hucks
Andre E. Johnson
Tamara Elisabeth Lewis
Herbert Robinson Marbury
Lester Agyei McCorn
Charles Wesley McKinney Jr.
Vanessa Lovelace
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Morehouse College
Derek Scott Hicks
Pamela R. Lightsey
Leonard Cornell McKinnis II
Martin Luther King Jr.
COLLEGIUM OF SCHOLARS
Inductees
David Edward Morrow
Kwame Edwin Otu
Angela N. Parker
Valerie Montgomery Rice
Melva L. Sampson
Braxton Deonte Shelley
Anthony Louis Pinder
Angela D. Sims
Melvin Burt Rahming
Teresa Lynn Smallwood
Abraham Smith
Mitiz J. Smith
Shanell T. Smith
Shively T.J. Smith
Dianne Stewart
Louis Wade Sullivan
Itihari Toure
Emilie Maureen Townes
Beverly Rose Wallace
LaKeesha Walrond
Michele E. Watkins
Anne Wimbush Watts
Khalia J. Williams
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
Almeda Michelle Wright
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The Reverend Dr. Otha Gilyard Dr. Otha Gilyard has served as the senior pastor of the Historic Shiloh Baptist Church of Columbus, Ohio since December 1, 1993. Pastor Gilyard has served churches in New Jersey and Michigan. His earned degrees are from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee (Bachelor of Arts), Princeton Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity), Union Theological Seminary (Master of Sacred Theology), and his doctorate degree came from Chicago Theological Seminary. He was awarded the prestigious Merrill Fellowship to study at Harvard Divinity School, and received Honorary Degrees from Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Lee Bible College, Memphis, Tennessee. Rev. Dr. Gilyard served two years as president of the Board of Ohio Council of Churches. He was appointed by the 68th Governor of Ohio, Theodore Strickland and the 69th Governor of Ohio, John Richard Kasich Jr., as a board member of the Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists. Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman appointed him to serve as a member of his Education Commission.
Presently, he is serving as president of the Ohio Baptist General Convention. He is the second president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Breakfast Committee. This Birthday Breakfast is the largest United States sit down meal of its kind marking the birthdate of Morehouse alumnus, Martin Luther King Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year—held in Columbus the capital and the largest city in Ohio. Dr. Gilyard is responsible for continuously maintaining the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship having supported thirty-one Morehouse College students seeking graduate theological education since 1991, totaling over $300,000. These young men today occupy a significant number of the leading pulpits of Christian churches and teaching positions in leading liberal arts colleges and research universities throughout the United States. Otha Gilyard is married to Frieda Rand and they have one daughter, Karla Jackson. He is the proud grandparent to Kareem and Margeaux Jackson.
M A RTIN LU THER K ING JR. SCHOL A RS Renard Darnell Allen
Brian Russel Davis
Lester Agyei McCorn
Kevin Kitrell Ross
Gerard A. Ancrum
Julian Michael DeShazier
Tyrone Emmanuel McGowan
Samuel T. Ross-Lee
Ernest Andrew Brooks III
Willie Dwayne Francois III
David Malcolm McGruder
Willie J. Seals Jr.
Gabriel Denard Cloud*
Tiant D’Andre Holloway
Rashad Raymond Moore
Michael A. Walrond Jr.
Delman Lamont Coates
JaParis Xavier Key
Echol Lee Nix Jr.
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock
Jawanza Karriem Colvin
Brandon Lamar Jackson
Donavan Jamal Pinner
Beryl Monroe Whipple
Brandon Thomas Crowley
Kevin Rae Miles Johnson
Winford Kennadean Rice
Demetrius M.T. Ziegler
Devon Jerome Crawford
Hassan Xavier Henderson-Lott
Joseph Carlos Robinson *This Year’s Scholarship Recipient
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Morehouse College
Worldhouse Wednesday Interfailth Assembly The Reverend Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr. Presiding Dean of the Chapel, Professor of Religion and Director, Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute for Global Ethics and Reconciliation
[] Prelude
Dr. David Francis Oliver
“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” arr. Abin C. Wentworth
Call to A ssemble
The Reverend Dean Carter
Opening Prayer
Rabbi Bradley Levenberg Temple Sinai Sandy Springs, GA
The Occasion
Plemon El-Amin Imam Emeritus Atlanta Masjid Al-Islam “Psalm 150”
Musical Selection
Cesar Franck Morehouse College Glee Club
Introduction of Speaker
Presentation
Unveliing of Portraits
Dr. Kendrick Brown Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs The Reverend Dean Carter
Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize Medallion, Prismatic Flame, Books and Citation
Dean Carter
And Then Shall the Trumpets Sound
A ddress
“A World Culture of Sacred Philosophy”
Postlude
“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”
Dr. Robert Cummings Neville Dean Emeritus Boston University School of Theology and Daniel L. Marsh Chapel Fred Bock David Oliver
Dr. David Edward Morrow ’80 Director, Morehouse College Glee Club and Associate Professor of Music Dr. David Francis Oliver College Organist
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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Dr. Robert Cummings Neville Robert Cummings Neville is a philosopher, theologian, and scholar of religion who retired in 2018 from Boston University. A graduate of Yale University (B. A., M. A., Ph.D), he taught previously at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Purchase, Fordham University, and Yale University; he also worked at the Hastings Center for Bioethics. Neville is the author of numerous books and articles in philosophy, theology, religion, and art criticism. His interests in philosophy are in metaphysics, philosophical cosmology, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of education, and aesthetics and he pursues these out of a background in Western and East Asian philosophies finding special resources in pragmatism and process thought. His interests in theology are in philosophical theology, comparative theology, Christian systematics, Confucianism, and theologies of sexual identity. His interests in religion are in comparative religions, theory of religion, and the truth and limitations of religious symbolism. Neville is a Confucian scholar-official who has been devoted to the administration of institutions. He has been department chair at SUNY Purchase, SUNY Stony Brook, and Boston University; dean of Fine Arts and Humanities at SUNY Stony Brook; dean of the School of Theology at Boston University where he was also Dean of Marsh Chapel and executive director of the Danielsen Institute. He has been president of the American Academy of Religion, the Institute for American Philosophical and Religious Thought, the International society for Chinese Philosophy, the Metaphysical Society of America, and the Charles S. Peirce Society. Neville is a United Methodist Elder (minister). He is a player of taijiquan, a walker, gardener, and amateur singer. His wife, Beth Neville, is an artist.
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Morehouse College
Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi (1869-1948)
G
andhi has been chosen by the people of India, England, and by countless citizens throughout the globe as the greatest world leader of the past 1,000 years. Through the use of nonviolence, fasting and religious tolerance, he developed and tested the means for ending an era of colonial domination and imperialism. He elevated the love ethic of Jesus to the level of international diplomacy. Using his insightful and thorough reading of John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Bible, the Koran, and the philosophies and scriptures of other world religions, he instituted a form of universal worship and promoted a love for truth, regardless of its source. This reading further encouraged him to remain by pain or pleasure, victory or defeat, and to work without promise of success or fear of failure. He spent a total of 10 years imprisoned by the British, a period that witnessed the proliferation of his writings, which now fill 100 volumes, each being over 500 pages. Gandhi’s civil disobedience and nonviolent demonstrations in South Africa and India won greater freedom and ultimately, independence for 400 million Indians after three centuries of British rule. It also inspired the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Albert Luthuli, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Mother Teresa, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, the Dalai Lama, and Thich Nhat Hanh. It is because of his selfless devotion to service and scholarship for the dispossessed—dressing like them, speaking their language, and living among them—that billions today continue to grant Gandhi the title “Mahatma “ and to regard him as a Christian, Judaic, Buddhist, Islamic, and Hindu saint. The Mahatma was the catalyst, if not the initiator, of five of the major revolutions of the twentieth century: the revolutions against colonialism, racism, violence, and sexism, and for ecology. According to Albert Einstein, “Gandhi organized the people of India into a mass movement on a scale without precedent or parallel. He was the greatest political genius in human history. Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon the earth.”
Gandhi’s life and achievements also caused Martin Luther King Jr. to say, “Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought, and acted, inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore him at our own risk .... He is the Christian of the century.” The world does not realize, however, that the Mahatma was not always nonviolent. Gandhi acknowledged many times that his wife of 62 years, Kasturbai Kapadia Gandhi, in her natural unassuming Hindu manner, taught him the art, practice, and science of nonviolence. Her temperament caused Gandhi to publicly declare that he believed women to have a natural predisposition to nonviolent leadership. While Gandhi was in prison, his wife spoke on his behalf and fasted on the same strict vegetarian diet he used. Gandhi himself acknowledged and documented Kasturbai’s courage and bravery to be greater than his own. Officials of the government of India have informed us that nowhere outside of India have Mahatma and Kasturbai, whose name means “the great mother,” been honored together as perhaps the most influential family of the 20th century. This joint recognition is long overdue and greatly needed, not only to recognize the role of women but also to complete the humanity of all of us. Six related Morehouse personalities have Gandhi connections which have facilitated the development of this nation. These six persons are Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, Howard Washington Thurman, Benjamin Elijah Mays, Samuel Woodrow Williams, Martin Luther King Jr., Floyd McKissick, and Charles Radford Lawrence. All of these gentlemen must be credited with mid- wifing Gandhian nonviolence into the American body politic. Martin Luther King Jr. claimed Gandhi, Johnson, Thurman, Mays, Williams, and Lawrence as his mentors. Floyd McKissick, who attended Morehouse, succeeded James Farmer, as the head of the Congress of Racial Equality, which was founded on the principles of Gandhian nonviolence. The awarding of honorary degrees to the Gandhis symbolized Morehouse’s continued recognition of the transforming role of nonviolence in the sound construction and healthy maintenance of our ever-emerging world house. The Mahatma is indeed the greatest world leader of the 20th century.
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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Martin Luther King Jr.
“T
(1929-1968)
he ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,” said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Throughout the 20th century, no American leader demonstrated more moral courage and spiritual leadership in the face of extreme adversity than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a modern day prophet and civil rights leader, King worked assiduously to “redeem the soul of America.” His pronounced opposition to racism, militarism, and materialism exceeded the ideals posited by any private citizen or elected public official in America during the last century.
Dr. King’s commitment to peace and justice received widespread acclaim. Time magazine recognized him as “Man of the Year” in 1963, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and he became the only non-elected American to be recognized with a federal holiday in 1983. In 1998, Congress authorized the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in his honor. This memorial is located on the Tidal Basin near the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial and between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.
King was a man of ideas and action. He engaged in civil disobedience, and he inspired protest movements for civil rights and human rights. His unwavering faith in the power of love, and his philosophy of nonviolence, skillfully and brilliantly represented the hopes and dreams of the poor and dispossessed throughout the world. Dr. King’s leadership, unquestionably, reshaped the racial landscape in the American South and, indeed, in the nation; moreover, his vision of equality encouraged the development of political and economic justice in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Africa. His sincere heartfelt compassion
Yet, in the new millennium, it is evident that Dr. King’s most enduring legacy can be summed up in his own words: he tried to feed the hungry and he tried to clothe the naked. He was a drum major for justice, a drum major for peace, and a drum major for righteousness. He gave his life loving his enemies while serving humanity. Clearly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most significant American leader of the 20th century. His tireless leadership, his unselfish spirit, and his undying influence on the maturation of American freedom and democracy will forever impact the lives of unborn generations throughout the world.
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for people transcended race and class and even revised the paradigm of equality by embracing the beloved community.
Morehouse College
Daisaku Ikeda (1928-Present)
D
aisaku Ikeda is a peacebuilder, Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, and poet. He was president of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization in Japan from 1960–79 and is the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), one of the world’s largest and most diverse community-based Buddhist associations, promoting a philosophy of empowerment and social engagement for peace. He is also the founder of the Soka Schools system and several international institutions promoting peace, culture, and education. Ikeda was born in Tokyo, Japan, on January 2, 1928, the fifth of eight children, to a family of seaweed farmers. Growing up during World War II, he endured firsthand the suffering and devastation of war, including the death of his eldest brother who was killed in action in Burma (present-day Myanmar). This experience as a teenager gave birth to a lifelong passion to work for peace and root out the fundamental causes of human conflict. In 1947, at the age of 19, he encountered Buddhism through a meeting with Josei Toda (1900–58), who was an educator, pacifist, and leader of the Soka Gakkai. Toda had been imprisoned during the war with his mentor Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944). Both held firm to their religious convictions in the face of oppression by the military authorities who imposed State Shinto ideology on the population as a means of sanctifying their war of aggression, and Makiguchi had died in prison. Toda’s resolve to stand up to the militarist regime impressed Ikeda, who would later write, “The words of a person who had suffered imprisonment for his convictions carried a special weight. I felt intuitively that I could trust him.” Although Ikeda’s association with Toda lasted only 10 years, he describes his mentorship by Toda as the defining experience of his life and the source of everything he has done and become. In May 1960, two years after Toda’s death, Ikeda, then 32, succeeded him as president of the Soka Gakkai. In 1975, he became the founding president of the SGI, now a global network linking over 12 million members in some 190 countries and territories. Ikeda writes, “Everything depends on the people. That is why it is vital to forge a growing network that brings people of goodwill and conscience together.” Ikeda has also founded a number of independent, nonprofit research institutes that promote peace through cross-cultural, interdisciplinary collaboration: the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century (renamed the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue in 2009), the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, and the Institute of Oriental Philosophy.
The Min-On Concert Association and the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum promote mutual understanding and friendship between different cultures through the arts. It was in the 1960s that Ikeda began also to work toward the founding of a school system based on first Soka Gakkai President Makiguchi’s educational theories. This was a dream that both Makiguchi and Toda had cherished. In 1968, Ikeda realized the vision with the founding of Tokyo Junior and Senior High Schools. The schools were not simply a monument to his predecessors. Their establishment was the first major step in an ongoing endeavor to develop a humanistic educational system, one that Ikeda has described as the culminating undertaking of his life. The schools’ establishment was followed in 1971 by the establishment of Soka University, and in subsequent years by a string of other educational institutions around Japan and abroad. These schools are open to all students and have no religious instruction. Ikeda writes: “My determination was to build these schools up into centers of learning consecrated to the goal of peace, working with educators throughout the world.” Ikeda is a strong proponent of dialogue as the foundation of peace. Since the 1970s, he has pursued dialogue with individuals from diverse backgrounds—prominent figures from around the world in the humanities, politics, faith traditions, culture, education and various academic fields— in order to discover common ground and identify ways of tackling the complex problems facing humanity. Over 70 of these have been published in book form. Dialogue and the promotion of cultural exchange have also been at the basis of his efforts to build trust and foster friendship in contexts of historical division and conflict. The central tenet of Ikeda’s thought, grounded in Buddhist humanism, is the fundamental dignity of life, a value he sees as the key to lasting peace and human happiness. In his view, global peace relies ultimately on a self-directed transformation within the life of the individual, rather than on societal or structural reforms alone. This conviction is expressed most succinctly in the preface of The Human Revolution, Ikeda’s novelization of the Soka Gakkai’s history and ideals: “A great inner revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.” Ikeda is a prolific writer who has published more than 240 works, ranging from commentaries on Buddhism to biographical essays, poetry and children’s stories. He has two sons, Hiromasa and Takahiro, and lives with his wife, Kaneko, in Tokyo.
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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Objectives of the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute for Global Cosmopolitan Ethics and Reconciliation
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has bequeathed us a roadmap that has been tested and proven workable within and between nation states. Our American Moses, Martin Luther King Ir., has employed the roadmap in a fashion that further confirms the reliability of the Gandhian bequest to the world. The Gandhian nonviolent method was user friendly in the South African crisis effectively addressed by Nelson Mandela’s government to end the more than fifty years of apartheid oppression. Daisaku Ikeda has effectively used Gandhian and Kingian nonviolent methods to democratize and internationalize the imperialistic military state of Japan since 1960. The most convincing sanctions for the effective use of nonviolent approaches to conflict resolution are seen in the diplomacy of the United Nations, and the state departments of all nations. The nonviolent diplomatic philosophies have been demonstrated by many world leaders such as Mother Teresa, Jesse Jackson, Pope John Paul II, Jimmy Carter, Mary McLeod Bethune, Baclav Havel, Johnnie Coleman, Marian Wright Edelman, Chief Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, and Han Park.
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denominationalism, enslavement, environmental injustice, ethnic cleansing, hate crimes, healing, inadequate schools, poverty, privileged markets, racism, school violence, the unity of science and religion, sexism, societal fragmentation, spirituality, terrorism, unemployment, unequal access to higher education, war, the prison industrial complex, and xenophobia. A large variety of groups crossing all cultural, economical, educational, gender, lifestyle, national, racial, and religious boundaries will discover new bases for the common ground between us. This Institute will inspire a more profound sense of
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Morehouse College
TO SERVE as a conference and multicultural Institute, a place to organize international and community based forums within and sponsored by the Martin Luther King Ir. International Chapel, to discuss a variety of perspectives affecting our common humanity. These could include such issues as community disintegration,
domestic and international civility and humanity, helping us to appreciate that we are geographically one and are becoming spiritually one. Such diplomacy is reachable as a noble end of reconciling diversity toward which we should strive.
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TO MAKE KNOWN the life, work, and philosophies of Martin Luther King Ir., Howard Thurman, Benjamin Mays, Floyd McKissick, Samuel Woodrow Williams, Mordecai Wyatt lohnson, George Kelsey, William Jefferson White, Charles T. Walker,
Charles Radford Lawrence, James Madison Nabrit, and with Mohandas K. Gandhi as the greatest world leader of the Twentieth Century, and Daisaku Ikeda as the contemporary embodiment of the philosophy of nonviolence institutionalized internationally.
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TO HONOR Kasturbai Gandhi for her singular, unsung contribution of role modeling and tutoring her husband in the practice of nonviolence. This will inaugurate a tradition of honoring women whom The Mahatma felt had a natural predisposition to providing nonviolent leadership.
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TO EXPLORE possibilities of exchanging visiting scholars and students from India and other countries who are experts on and interested in the application of philosophies of nonviolence internationally.
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TO BE A CONDUIT for partnerships and coordinated efforts of domestic and international organizations dedicated to reconciliation work. Some of these partners will be the Carter Center, the Peace Corps, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Soka Gakki International (Buddhist), the Atlanta Masjid of Al Islam, Science and Spirit Magazine, Holistic Health Magazine, the Morehouse Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, the India Council of Cultural Relations (New Delhi), the Gandhi Hamer King Center (Denver), UNESCO, Operations Crossroads Africa, the American Friends
Services Committee, the Highlander Institute, the George Mason Institute for Conflict Resolution, the Southern Poverty Law Institute, Oxfam America, the Synthesis Dialogues, Council for the Parliament of World Religions, Association for Global New Thought, the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Foundation, the Knotted Gun Project, and the Indian American Culture Association of Atlanta, and the Tikkun Community.
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TO ASSIST in the fulfillment of Resolution GA/9500, unanimously adopted by the 55th plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, November 10, 1998. The resolution called for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), with the year 2000 being a year of education. This includes the inauguration of “A Season of Nonviolence” annually, (January 30 - April 4), a period between the assassination dates of Gandhi and King, respectively.
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TO OFFER consultancy and guidance to institutions and individuals engaged in the study and research of nonviolence for problem solving. We would actively promote the introduction of foundation courses on Gandhian, Kingian, and lkedian philosophies in educational institutions, and facilitate a shift in the attitude of the print and electronic media towards rooting out the culture of violence by generative and creative kinds of nonviolence.
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TO UNDERTAKE the production and distribution of literature on nonviolence, peace, Gandhi-King-Ikeda studies, comparative religion, tolerance, appreciation of differences, and diversity-maturity.
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TO DEVELOP a network of individuals and institutions engaged in the task of peace and justice education, conflict transformation, peace, and justice promotion activities.
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TO DEVISE suitable formats and programs to bring the arts, particularly performing arts/ dramaturge-in-residence, in peace and justice promotion. We will also seek to develop a comprehensive web page on Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Daisaku Ikeda. We propose to utilize The GandhiKing-Ikeda Institute for Global Ethics and Reconciliation as an institutionalized forum linking practice, knowledge, and service. Our goal is to help develop thoughtful servant-scholar leaders who think and act differently about problems of oppression and insensitivity which tend to be examined within narrow contexts with little attention paid to their complex and often paradoxical generalities around the world. This program emphasis would further assist the dean of the Chapel and the other College offices in the theological and intellectual exploration of vocation with the future ordained and lay leadership.
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community
BUILDER’S PRIZE RECIPIENTS
2001
2001
2001
2002
HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal
Mr. Nelson R. Mandela
Mr. Mikhail S. Gorbachev
Dr. Michael Nobel
Prince of Jordan; President, The Club of Rome
Former President, Republic of South Africa; Former President, African National Congress; Co-recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1993
Former President, the Soviet Union; President, The Gorbachev Foundation; President, Green Cross International; Recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1990
Chairman, Nobel Family Society; Chairman, The Nonviolence Project
2003
2004
2004
2005
Ms. Betty Williams
Mr. F. W. De Klerk Former President, Republic of South Africa; Co-recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1993
Chief Albert John Luthuli (posthumous)
Rabbi Michael Lerner
Peace Worker, Founder and President, World Centers of Compassion for Children; Co-recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1977
2005
Former President, African National Congress; Recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1960
Editor, Tikkun Magazine; Founder & National Co-Chair, The Tikkun Community; Rabbi Beyt Tikkun
2006
2006
2009
Mr. John Hume
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Mrs. Coretta Scott King
Mr. Yitzhak Rabin (posthumous)
Architect of Northern Ireland Peace Settlement; Founder, Social Democratic and Labour Party; Co-recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1994
Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town; Recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1984
First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement; Founder, The Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Former Prime Minister, State of lsrael; Architect, Oslo Accords; Co-recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 1994
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Morehouse College
Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community
BUILDER’S PRIZE RECIPIENTS
2010
2011 Co-recipient
2011 Co-recipient
The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
Mrs. Evelyn Gibson Lowery
Dean of the American Civil Rights Movement; Co-founder and President Emeritus, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Pioneer, American Civil Rights Movement; Founder, SCLC/W.O.M.E.N., Inc. (Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now)
Founder, Art of Living Foundation, International Association for Human Values
2014
2015
2016
2017
Dr. Karen Armstrong
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
Dr. Johan Galtung
Brother James Gaffney, FSC
Father of International Peace and Conflict Studies; Founder, Galtung-lnstitut for Peace Theory and Peace Practice; Founder, TR ANSCEND International
President Emeritus, Lewis University; Honorary Founder, Lewis University
Dr. Han Shik Park University Professor oflnternational Affairs; Director, Center for the Study of Global Issues; (GLOBIS) University of Georgia; Architect of U.S.-North Korean Relations
Founder, Charter for Compassion; Leading Historian of World Religion; Thinker and Bestselling Author
Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Ambassador of Bangladesh to UN; Founder of the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace
2018
2019
Dr. Neelakanta Radhakrishnan
Dr. Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen
Chair, Gandhi Peace Mission
Director, Department of Peace Operations (DPO) - PATRIR
2013 His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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Dear Old Morehouse Dear old Morehouse, dear old Morehouse, We have pledged our lives to thee; And we’ll ever, yea forever, Give ourselves in loyalty. True forever, true forever, To old Morehouse may we be; So to bind each son the other, Into ties more brotherly. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Make us steadfast, honest, true, To old Morehouse, and her ideals, And in all things that we do. J.O.B. Mosley ’29
AC K N O W L E D G M E N T S A N D IN S T I T U T I O N A L PA R T N E R S
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site
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Morehouse College
Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Timeline
chapel mission and programming MIS SION
To develop transforming nonviolent ambassadors of peace to reveal and co-create the Beloved World Economic Community as a reflection or mirror of the social justice of Jesus.
IMPAC T
41 years of growth and expansion; 1500+ program participants
1979
2000
2009
2014
2017
2020
Chapel Assistants
Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute, Prize and Award
Program for Theological Exploration of Vocation
College of Pastoral Leadership
Cultivating Moral Cosmopolitan Practitioners
Covenant
2000
2009
2015
2018
Rabin-King Initiative
WorldHouse Academy for High School Youth
Samuel DuBois Cook Dialogues
1984 College of Ministers and Laity
Howard Thurman Trust and Award
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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VI RT UA L S CHEDULE OF EVEN TS
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity THEME
“The Origins of Our Discontents: A Non-violent Moral Cosmopolitan Perspective” Wednesday, April 7, 2021 7 p.m. WorldHouse Wednesday - Interfaith Assembly Conferring the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize and portrait unveilings 2021 RECIPIENT AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Robert Cummings Neville
Dean Emeritus of Boston University School of Theology and Dean of Daniel L. Marsh Chapel Boston, MA
(View on the Morehouse Youtube Channel)
Thursday, April 8, 2021 11 a.m. Benjamin Elijah Mays Crown Forum & MLK Jr. College of Ministers & Laity Induction Ceremony and portrait unveiling PREACHER
The Reverend Dr. LaKeesha Walrond President of New York Theological Seminary New York, NY
(View on the Morehouse Youtube Channel)
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Morehouse College
SUPPORT THE
Martin Luther King Jr. INTERNATIONAL CHAPEL
The Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel has walls that talk. In the lobby, marble walls are engraved with words from the world’s best known dreamer: “I still have a dream, deeply rooted in the American dream.” In the secret hush of the nave the walls have countless tales from ministers of nearly every denomination under the sun. Some of the best known speakers and thinkers have come here. From 2,100 students attending required weekly assemblies, to hundreds of parents entrusting their beloved sons to the College each fall, to thousands of visitors snapping photos of the King statue on the plaza throughout the year – the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel is indeed the College’s “living room” to the world.
“That means we are committed to maintaining what we call King's World House values for the good of universal humanity, so that human dignity can be maintained at the most inclusive level," said Chapel Dean Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. For those who dream of a beloved community, non-violent social change, personal transformation, brotherhood, justice, and peace, the King Chapel, built in 1978, offers both a scholastic and spiritual home and serves as an incubator for powerful ideas. An investment in restoring King Chapel, our global treasure, is an investment in the ideas, vision, and courage of emerging scholars and servant leaders who, in ways small and grand, will carry on King's legacy.
DONATE TODAY. giving.morehouse.edu/chapel
35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity
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THE GREAT WORLDHOUSE
Martin Luther King International Chapel The Reverend William Jefferson White ’11, D.D. (Hon.) Founder of Morehouse College Willie Edward Woods ’85, M.B.A. Chairman, Board of Trustees David Anthony Thomas, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.Phil. Twelfth President of Morehouse College The Reverend Robert Michael Franklin Jr. ’75, Ph.D., D.D., D.H.L. President Emeritus Walter Eugene Massey ’58, Ph.D., D.S., D.Hum., Ed.D., D.H.C., Ll.D., Mult. President Emeritus Leroy Keith Jr. ’61, Ph.D. President Emeritus Hugh Morris Gloster Sr. ’31, Ph.D., Ll.D., D.H.L., Litt.D., D.H.C., Mult. Founder of the King Chapel The Reverend Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., Ph.D., D.D., D.H., D.R.S, D.H.C., Mult. Dean of the Chapel, Professor of Religion, College Archivist and Curator The Reverend Terry Farrell Walker Sr. ’89, M.Div. Director, Chapel Relations The Reverend Kimberly M. Brown Executive Assistant to the Dean Office Manager & Director, Arts in Ministry The Reverend Quincy James Rineheart, M.Div., S.T.M. Associate Campus Minister David Francis Oliver, D.M.A College Organist Marva Griffin Carter, Ph.D. Music Consultant & Pianist Guy F. Mitchell Event Support Coordinator Donna E. Thomas Walker, M.Div., M.A.C.E. Volunteer
The Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Trustee Committee Members Willie Woods, Chairman (Ex Officio) David A. Thomas (Ex Officio) Euclid Walker, Chair
Delman Coates Otis Moss III Charles David Moody Richard Thaler
Harold V. Bennett Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. Terry F. Walker Sr.
The Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Assistants Officers Gabriel Denard Cloud ’21 President
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T. Micah Washington ’23 Vice President
Ayannah L. Lang ’22 Treasurer
Morehouse College
Elijah J. Davis ’23 General Secretary
Thank you!
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Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Morehouse College 830 Westview Drive, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30314-3773 (p) 470.639.0323 (f) 470-639-0976 morehouse.edu/life/campus/ martin-luther-king-jr-international-chapel