“They were messengers of peace yet died violent deaths, assassinated because of their ideology, philosophy and personal conviction and actions toward nonviolence. Their untimely deaths immortalized them, raising these gentle giants to an even higher plateau than perhaps anyone envisioned. The voices – one tiny, frail, and squeaky, the other eloquent, booming, and preachy – were silenced. Their reward is the reverence that transcends and binds us to them, and we travel near and far to be in the presence of their aura.”
The words are those of Troy Lissimore, former superintendents of parks. The men in question, linked together in history, as teacher and student, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Within the sacred interiors of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic site and Preservation District, the little brown Indian man who took on the mighty British empire and won, stands tall and majestic, his persona encased in a statuesque six foot four replica of sinewy bronze, a constant reminder for the diverse community of a “city too proud to hate” of not just the civil rights movement and the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King, but also of the deep influence that Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence to resolve conflicts, had in his life.
The site of the statue, installed in 1998, has become something of a pilgrimage spot. During periods of racial discord, community leaders have headed to the statue to cool frayed tempers. When baseball pitcher John Rocker was disciplined for racist remarks, mowing the grounds around the statue was among his contemplated punishments. A Sept 11 memorial service was held there. On Jan 25 this year, as they have annually to mark the dedication of the statue, on a cool, but crispy sunny afternoon, people of diverse ethnicity and religions congregated around the statue, singing Vaishnav Janato, one of Gandhi’s favorite hymns, as they garlanded the statue and lit a diya.
But establishing either the King Center and the statue was no song, recalls Lissimore. “We were at that point fighting for existence in terms of Congress appropriating the $10.3 million needed to establish and develop the MLK National Historic site. The Congress had denied us that funding saying we are not building these kinds of centers for the national parks services anymore. Also, to make honoring Gandhi a reality we needed to get the bigger piece to be able to accommodate the other piece. But we did not give in and finally the Congress did relent.”
In 1983, the President of the Indian American Cultural Association Dr Yogesh Joshi, entrepreneur Krishna Srinivasa, head of the Indian Forum for Political Education, and Mrs. Coretta Scott King decided to create a Gandhi Room in the MLK Center to honor the man who had inspired Dr King so deeply. The room gathered dust soon after and became a storage space until 1987 when two Indian Americans, Subash Razdan, an engineer and Giriraj Rao, a Coco Cola executive and a staunch Gandhian, worked together to redesign and refurbish it, filling it with Gandhi memorabilia, portraits and exquisite furniture. The theme of the room honored both Gandhi and King, says Razdan and, according to Rao, Coretta Scott King has declared that as long as she lives, Gandhi’s birth anniversary celebrations would always take place at the King Center.
In 1988 when Razdan became the Vice President of the National Federation of Indian Associations, and was hosting a convention in Atlanta to be held in the fall of 1992, a dream, to have a street named after Gandhi in the Historic District as part of the celebrations linking the two messengers of peace, took root in his mind.
An Indian contingent headed by Razdan and Rao approached then Mayor Maynard Jackson in 1991, through his special assistant Greg Pridgeon with their request. “I was really excited,” recalls Pridgeon. “I have been a student of both Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi and I thought it would be a nice fit and so sought out information about various streets in the community and spoke with a number of folks including a council member and some of leaders in the area.” Joy Berry, then executive director of the Human Rights Commission, which focuses on bringing various ethnic cultures together, approved the motion. With the support of the commission they were able to raise funds and get the business community involved as well as galvanize several community members into action, says Berry.
Mrs. King and Mayor Jackson threw their support to rename Hogue Street, which was right across MLK’s birth home, after Gandhi linking the two messengers of peace together. “We were so excited and even had an Indian celebration, some rituals and a picture taking ceremony,” says Razdan.
But when the time came to appear before the Atlanta City Council for a public hearing, a strong contingent of people and members of the City of Atlanta opposed the name change.
The object-ions, according to Pridgeon, stemmed from the fact that many people weren’t as familiar with Mahatma Gandhi’s work and its influence on Dr. King. Others felt that some African American heroes should be honored first. The motion stalled; disappointment and frayed tempers ruled the day.
A meeting was called in the mayor’s office and Razdan recalls the Mayor Jackson and Pridgeon suggesting that they try and find another way of recognizing Gandhi, “and do it in a way where we don’t have to fight the community, maybe look at either city property or federal property.” In stepped Troy Lissimore who was then Superintendent of Parks. “We looked at each other as lost children,” recalls Lissimore, “but I was not strategically involved in the issue at hand at that time, because what took place was within the boundaries of the national historic site and what eventually emerged was that everyone started looking at me and I started looking… at me!!” he adds with a laugh.
“Sometimes the setbacks create opportunities,” adds Lissimore, “We were at that point fighting for existence in terms of Congress appropriating the $10.3 million we needed to establish and develop the MLK National Historic site. The Congress had denied us that funding saying that we are not building these kinds of centers for the national parks services anymore. But we did not give in and finally the congress did relent. But to make honoring Gandhi a reality we needed to get the bigger piece to be able to accommodate the other piece.”
During discussions on alternatives to a street naming, Lissimore says there were several suggestions, one of which was to create a 300-foot stretch of land at the MLK Historic Site as a promenade to honor Gandhi. Razdan adds, “We thought that the promenade would be incomplete without a statue of Gandhi, the idea took root and then began the task of involving the Indian Embassy and other Indian organizations to join forces and make the installation of the statue, estimated to cost $50,000 dollars, a reality.”
Giriraj Rao credits Razdan’s efforts and clout as Vice President of NFIA, as well as cordial relations with the then Indian Ambassador Siddharth Shankar Ray as the prime factor in the Government of India agreeing to donate the statue and for things to move forward, while Lissimore liaised between the King family and the Indian community.
As things started to roll all that was left was to get Congressional approval, a prerequisite for installing a statue on federal property, but the project was soon mired in national controversy. “A Sikh gentleman from Colorado, who we did not know, started creating trouble through letters claiming Gandhi was a murderer and other such nonsensical things,” recalls Razdan “The Republicans were in power and the sub committee chair for the Department of Interior, which heads the National Parks and Recreations was a Republican from the same state who believed the Sikh gentleman and denied the request.” Razdan had to approach Ambassador Ray as well as the India Caucus of Democrats and Republicans for help as he campaigned to educate the committee chair, who finally relented and passed the motion.
On Jan 24, 1998, the dedication ceremony of the Gandhi statue took place with top dignitaries and hundreds from diverse cultural background in attendance. Rao who remembers being up the night before, overseeing final arrangements recalls forgetting all protocol as he walked up to speak and uttered instead Jackie Gleason’s famous words, “How sweet it is!” Today as she looks at the statue, Joy Berry says she is reminded of the fact that Dr. King based his ideals and his life upon the philosophy and achievements of Gandhi, and keeping their legacy alive together on the same hallowed grounds was a natural marriage. When a special service was held at the statue after Sept. 11, people of all cultures came together to pay homage. “I am most proud that Atlanta, which is perceived as the heart of the civil rights movement, has this magnificent monument which helps people who are in a disquieted state to become calm when they go there and this is the power of these two forces coming together.”
Pridgeon agrees: “The statue evokes great admiration for the fact that Gandhi had the strength of his convictions and Dr. King saw that. Dr. King had many other methods with which he worked to have the civil rights of all human beings protected, preserved and allowed, but his embracing of the Gandhian principles truly binds the relationship between these two great messengers of peace.”
Lissimore points out that just as visitors to the King Center come thirsty for information and knowledge about Dr. King, a life size statue of the Mahatma provides a measure of emphasis that was lacking for visitors to the National Historic Site and the opportunity for citizens of Atlanta and the world to reflect and learn about both apostles of nonviolence in the same place.
Lissimore adds that the placement of the Gandhi statue close to the King Center and on the grounds of the National Historic Site gives it a universal appeal and adds to the perception of Atlanta as a truly international city.
Razdan recalls two instances when Gandhi’s statue played an important role in resolving ethnic conflicts.
“Every time there has been discord or ethnic confusion between blacks and Koreans, the administrators have told them, let’s go to the Gandhi statue and cool off. When John Rocker had made some remarks against ethnicity, I was part of a committee to figure out how to punish Rocker. One of the punishments that was suggested was that he should go to the statue and do some lawn mowing there as his atonement. That is the kind of reverence Gandhi evokes.”
The message from both men was essentially the same, says Razdan, that of racial enlightenment and open-mindedness†in thought and practice, a healthy respect for individualistic pluralism and a belief in the essential oneness of humanity. “That is why their ideals, ideologies and philosophies crossed racial and cultural barriers.”