Speeches

Remarks by Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Stephen Schwartz
at the Workshop on Non-Violence Organized by the Anti-Violence Support Organization

Wednesday, March 04, 2007
Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Moka

Hon Dharam Gokhool - Minister of Education & Human Resources

Mrs. Deepchand and other Executive members of the Anti-Violence Support Organization

Students of non-violence
Members of the press and media
Honored Guests

Thank you for having me today.  I would like to commend the Anti Violence Support Organization for its dedication to spreading the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on non-violence.  I am proud that the U.S. Embassy was able to provide a grant to support your organization’s non-violence awareness programs for students.  I wish you many years of continued success.

We are here today to commemorate the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated 39 years ago today, and to remember his life, which although cut short, continues to impact people around the world.   In America, we remember him for his incomparable contributions to civil rights, overcoming centuries of hostility and huge legal, physical, and social obstacles.  We remember him for his valiant and largely successful effort to desegregate an entire society and fight for racial equality.  We remember him for bringing together blacks and whites, younger students and older adults, Christians and Jews, rich and poor, to the historic 1963 March on Washington.  We remember his powerful and inspiring oratory, which motivated and guided millions of people.  We remember that when he won his Nobel Peace Prize, he donated all of the prize money to the civil rights movement.

But most importantly, we remember his message—that nonviolent action is the most powerful force for social change. 
Dr. King stressed Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas about the imperative of using peaceful means to achieve a peaceful end.  He once said that, “The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.  The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption.  The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation.  The aftermaths of violence are emptiness and bitterness.” 

I am heartened to know that those of you in this room have studied Dr. King’s ideas on non-violence.  His message transcends social, economic, racial, and religious lines.  His legacy is remembered not just in the U.S., but all over the world.   I am pleased that it has reached Mauritius.

I encourage you to take Dr. King’s message of non-violence and seek positive social change in Mauritius and around the world.  No matter what type of social change you are pursuing, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work epitomizes the effectiveness of a non-violent approach.  Although full racial and social equality remains a challenge in America, Dr. King’s vision, devotion, and dedication brought us a long way forward. 

Despite all the violence and hatred that confronted Dr. King, he maintained his belief that the use of non-violence was the only way to effect positive and lasting social change.  Imagine that a man approaches you, pretending to shake your hand and slaps you across the face instead.  Imagine that a bomb is thrown into the yard of your home.  Imagine that you are stabbed in the chest.   How would you react? Dr. King reacted by rededicating himself to the cause of non-violent social change.  For Dr. King, non-violence was not just a convenient way to push forward the agenda of the civil rights movement.  For Dr. King, non-violence was a way of life. 

I challenge all of you here today to follow that lead and to continue to promote civil justice through non-violent means.

I wish to thank the Anti Violence Support Organization for commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and for spreading his inspirational message.