Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership

On April 9th, 1968, thousands gathered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA to bid farewell to the American prophet, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A teaming sea of folks from every hue and class came to bear witness to the non-violent preacher killed by an assassin's bullet. In our archives at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, we have the membership card of Dr. King.

Yes, Dr. King was a card carrying member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. FOR supported the work of the civil rights movement. FOR staffer and organizer par excellence Bayard Rustin was dispatched to Montgomery in 1955 to assist in the development of a movement that would combine Gandhian Nonviolence and Black Social Protest. This combination was for Rustin like jazz.

Moreover, FOR's continued commitment to interfaith peace building has lead us to support the creation of the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership because we take serious King's claim: "Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality." This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: "Let us love one another, for love is God." A key element to bring about a more just world is one in which religion works to heal, rather than hurt.

During the week commemorating King's assassination, FOR published a number of blog entries that highlight his enduring legacy. Below you will find blog entries on events and reflections by FOR folks who believe that the "truth crashed to the earth shall rise, again."

• King's Legacy after Katrina by Ruby Sinreich
• Civil Disobedience in the Spirit of King by Ethan Vesely-Flad
• A Day to Remember by Mark Johnson
  
• King’s Last Campaign: Somebodyness and the Dignity of Labor by Paul Dekar

And two I authored:

• Vocation of Agony: A Personal Meditation on Dr. King’s Legacy
  
• 40 Years Later: The Unrealized American Dream