The Courage to Dream: On Rights, Values and Freedom

Description

'I have a dream' declared Martin Luther King in 1967. Those words, which echoed round the world, soon became immortal. King gave his life in the cause of eradicating racism, eliminating poverty and resolutely opposing all forms of war and violence. This dialogue brings together two figures who likewise have striven in all their activities to promote peace and fight discrimination: one a Christian theologian, historian and nonviolent activist who knew King personally and who moved in 1958 from Chicago to the American South to participate in the nascent struggle for civil rights; the other a foremost Buddhist leader who has been inspired in his own thinking by King's example. Vincent Harding and Daisaku Ikeda here bring the wisdom of their respective traditions and experiences to reflect on the personal cost of fighting for justice, and the courage that that entails. Their conversations range widely, across issues which include war and violence, the continuing blight in America of institutionalized racism, the need to overcome global disparities of wealth and the consequent dangers of materialism and consumerism

Vincent Harding (1931-2014) was a central participant in the struggles of the American Civil Rights Movement. A colleague and confidant of Martin Luther King, for whom he prepared several speeches, he drafted King's famous oration delivered at Riverside Church in 1967 condemning the Vietnam War. Professor of Theology from 1981-2004 at Illiff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, he was also co-founder and chairperson of Veterans of Hope, an initiative emphasizing nonviolent approaches to social change. His books include There is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America and Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero. Daisaku Ikeda (1928-) is President of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist network that actively promotes peace, culture and education, whose members come from over 190 countries worldwide. He is the author of more than 100 books on Buddhist themes, and received the United Nations Peace Award in 1983.