Photo by: Charles Ng
Students walking through Driscoll might notice a new temporary addition to the bridge. No, not the Girl Scouts selling cookies, but the large free-standing photo exhibit.
The exhibit, titled “Gandhi, King and Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace”, is sponsored by Bridges to the Future.
At the beginning of the exhibit, there is a welcome from Dr. Walter Massey, the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga.
In the welcome, Dr. Massey states that the exhibit is to build “an appreciation for the ideals of justice, equality, democracy, liberation, the humane treatment of all people, and the development of the spiritual self and community.”
The exhibit begins with brief biographies of two winners of the GKI Community Builders Prize.
One is Prince El Hassan bin Talal, of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, who won the prize in 2001.
The second is Michael Nobel, nephew of the man who began the Nobel Prize. Nobel won the GKI prize in 2002.
The exhibit itself centers around three activists for human rights: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of the United States, Daisaku Ikeda of Japan, and Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi of India.
Dr. King is known for his non-violent methods during the civil rights movement to obtain equality for African-Americans and other people of color in the United States.
He held sit-ins, bus boycotts and peaceful marches, finding strength in non-violent action against the government.
“Mahatma” Gandhi is known for his peaceful fight against the British for equal rights for Indians.
He underwent hunger strikes, held peaceful meetings and demonstrations, as well as non-violent marches.
Ikeda is known for his action in many social issues, including the abolition of nuclear weapons, the rights of workers to worship freely, and the increase of democracy in the Japanese government.
Like King and Gandhi, Ikeda used non-violent means, such as peaceful gathering, to obtain his goals.
There are multiple sections of the exhibit which have pictures of Gandhi, King and Ikeda in action.
The section titled “Nonviolence” has enlarged pictures of Gandhi during a hunger strike, and King being arrested by the police.
Another section, “Humanity and the Heart”, shows photos of Ikeda, King and Gandhi speaking to large groups of people. In one section, “Forging Destiny”, King, Ikeda and Gandhi list their greatest influences. Gandhi included his parents, Karamchand and Putlibai Gandhi, and Leo Tolstoy.
King’s influences include his father, Martin Luther King Sr., and Benjamin Elijah Mays, a Baptist Minister, and the president of Morehouse College.
Ikeda’s influences include Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, a human rights activist and founder of the Value-Creation Education Society.
A section entitled “Heroes of Human Rights” is devoted to other pioneers of equality, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rosa Parks, Mother Theresa and Reverend Jesse Jackson.
The exhibit will be in Driscoll from Feb. 18 through Mar. 19. For more information on the exhibit, call 303.871.2357.
