Martin Luther King Jr Commemorative Exhibition

By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai ~ dushi.pillai@gmail.com

The Chief Guest Martin Luther King III is being welcomed by the U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Particia Butenis

The Commemorative Exhibition includes Photos, Films, Audio Clips, Panel Discussions and Workshops.

The Exhibition and Events will continue in Colombo till February 9th 2010,in Ampara from February 17th to February 19th 2010, in Batticaloa from February 22nd to February 24th 2010 and in Jaffna from March 7th to 9th 2010.

Rosa Park was known as "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement"

Martin Luther King III and U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Ms.Patricia Butenis view the exhibition

Martin Luther King III conversing with U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Ms.Patricia Butenis during the tour of the exhibits

Br.Darshan Chaitanya,Resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Sri Lanka views the exhibition

The Commemorative Exhibition draws large number of people

Venerable Professor Bellanwila Wimalaratana-Chief Incumbent of Bellanwila Temple,Br.Darshan Chaitanya-Resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Sri Lanka, Fr.Mervyn Fernando-Founder Director of Subodhi Institute for Integral Education and Hafiz Abdul Rahuman gave the religious blessings

"Freedom Medley" by Soul Sounds hoir

"Freedom Medley" by Soul Sounds choir

Moving presentation by Soul Sounds Choir

Appreciating the Soul Sounds Choir

Martin Luther King Jr was not only influenced by the philosophies of different religious traditions, but also by friendships with people from different religious backgrounds

Former Prime Minister of India Late Indira Gandhi with Coretta Scott King in Washington D.C on November 5th 1971 three years after Martin Luther King Jr’s death

Audience at the event

Audience captivated at the event

Martin Luther King III's mother had reservations about naming him after his famous father, "realizing the burdens it can create for the child," but King, Jr. always wanted to name his son Martin Luther III

Martin Luther King Jr in his letter nominating a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh for the Noble Peace Prize, King wrote “He is a holy man, His ideas for peace, if applied would build a monument to ecumenism to world brotherhood to humanity”.

Martin Luther King III is seen adding remarks

U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Ms.Patricia Butenis welcomes the gathering

Martin Luther King III addresses the gathering at National Art Gallery

U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Ms.Patricia Butenis is in conversation with Fr.Mervyn Fernando- Founder Director of Subodhi Institute for Integral Education

"Nonviolence is not a miracle that works overnight" Martin Luther King Jr replied to a question whether it has won the hearts of the White Americans

Venerable Professor Bellanwila Wimalaratana-Chief Incumbent of Bellanwila Temple and Deshabandu Mrs.Jezima Ismail-Co-Founder of Muslim Women Research and Action Forum are seen here viewing the exhibition

March on Washington-August 28th 1963

Martin Luther King Jr spent a month in India with Gandhian followers and studying the Gandhian Philosophy of nonviolnece

The March Continues.....

U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Ms.Patricia Butenis is in conversation with Venerable Professor Bellanwila Wimalaratana-Chief Incumbent of Bellanwila Temple

"I have A DREAM Today" Martin Luther King Jr's speech on August 28th 1963 caught the attention of million people around the world

The day after observing what would have been Dr. King's 80th birthday in 2009, an African-American took the oath of office as president of the United States. Marking this, The National Public Radio (NPR) aired “I Had a Dream”, on the morning of January 19, 2009.


"He was the man of nonviolence, falling at the hands of a man of violence. He was a man of love falling at the hands of a man with hate. This seems the way of history.....For the same reason that Abraham Lincoln was shot, mark you for the same reason Gandhi was shot that is the attempt to heal the wounds of a divided nation – when Abraham Lincoln was shot, Secretary Stanton stood by and said, ‘Now he belongs to the ages.’ The same things is true of Mahatma Gandhi now: He belongs to the ages.”

Martin Luther King III pose for photograph with the Soul Sounds Choir

Martin Luther King III signs autograph at the National Art Gallery in Colombo

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Full text of speech by Martin Luther King III, at the opening event of U.S. Embassy MLK Exhibit, Colombo on Feb 6, 2010:

Realizing the Dream, Inc.
Sri Lanka: U.S. Embassy MLK Exhibit
by Martin Luther King III


When the U.S. Embassy invited me to come to Sri Lanka and inaugurate an exhibit commemorating the legacy of my father, I was both honored and humbled. In recent years I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to speak about my father around the world—about who he was, and about how his message of peace and nonviolence is meaningful for people everywhere – regardless of country, culture or faith.

Standing here today, half way around the world from home, I can’t help but think about one of my father’s most well-known quotations; he said “We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied together in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. There is an unavoidable interdependence among the human family.”

He went on to say that “I can never be what I ought to be, until you are what you ought to be.” What he meant, was that as long as someone in the world is poor, I can never be rich, no matter where I live. He meant that as long as someone in Africa, or South America, or Sri Lanka, is suffering from violence, I can never be at peace, no matter where I’m from.

He meant that achieving a more peaceful and equitable world is something we must all work for together. He had a vision about creating a world where people of every race, religion and nation could live together in peace as brothers and sisters. He called this idea the “Beloved Community”—a dream of a place and time where society is at peace with itself, and citizens from all backgrounds are treated as equal human beings. In his vision, it is a place where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

In the beloved community, all forms of violence—discrimination, prejudice, poverty, war—are replaced by peace, justice, equality and community.

In the beloved community, disputes are resolved by peaceful negotiation between adversaries. In the beloved community, love and trust triumph over hatred and fear. Peace prevails over violence. And the “midnight of desperation” succumbs to the “daybreak of joy.”

It is a vision that knows no boundaries of race, religion or place. It’s not an impossible, utopian dream, but a state of heart and mind, a spirit of hope and goodwill that transcends all barriers and builds a world where our children can achieve prosperity and peace. It is not a place reserved for only one people, but for all peoples—rich and poor; Christian and Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist; white, black and brown.

As we all know, the more difficult issue is, “how do we get there?” My father believed that the answer to that question is simple: through nonviolence.

Like most people, he had his doubts at first. He thought, “Nonviolence may be a nice idea, but can it really work against brute physical force?” Well, like Gandhi before him and so many others after him, he proved that it can. He proved that it is possible to overcome difficulties and achieve harmony through active, peaceful means.

For him the words of the Mahatma, who said “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” Like my father, Gandhi knew that violence simply doesn’t work. It only begets more violence, and leaves you captive in its vicious cycle.

When he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, my father made sure to tell the audience that violence is ineffective not only because it’s immoral, but because it’s impractical too. “It is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.” Simply stated, violence” ends up defeating itself.”

The vision of nonviolence is what my parents dedicated their lives to, and it is just as relevant today as it was then. It is also what caused me to found my organization, Realizing the Dream, which is dedicated to continuing their work in places around the world. We have several different programs, all of which are devoted to fighting poverty, prejudice and injustice; and to fostering peace through nonviolence.

One of our flagship programs is the Generation II Peacebuilders program. Gen II brings together the heirs of some of the most prominent peacebuilders and nonviolent leaders of the world. Tushar Gandhi, …Tutu, …..Mandela….are a few of the names among this group of next generation peacebuilders that have joined hands with me to build on the legacy of our parents. Being a second generation peacemaker does not take being the son or daughter of a famous leader. It only takes a person committed to peace, and willing to act to achieve it. It only takes a heart committed to peace, and a mind committed to acting on it. The world needs all of us to be the next generation of peacebuilders.

That’s just one of the things that Realizing the Dream is doing. We also have other projects in Eastern Europe, Africa and the United States, and for the past few months we’ve been building new relationships in Sri Lanka as well. We’re hoping that my father was right when he said that “he is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

Forgiveness may be difficult, because there’s always an instinct for retribution. There’s always an initial desire for revenge. But, Gandhi and my father taught us something different. They taught us that there’s a better way—nonviolence.

We’re hoping that the philosophy of nonviolence and love can help play some role in bringing this beautiful island together again in long-term peace and brotherhood—that Sri Lanka can one day be the Beloved Community. I’m proud to be here today to open this exhibit with the U.S. Embassy, and I’m proud to say that I now consider the Sri Lankan people – all its people – my friends.

Thank you.

President Barack Obama @ Remembering Rev. Dr. martin Luther King Jr., Washington DC, Jan 17, 2010