Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence through nonviolence. Next week, his grandson, Dr. Arun Gandhi, will teach the people of Chattanooga how to take Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence onto their streets.
The event, dubbed “Gandhi Visits Chattanooga: A City Moving Toward a Season for Nonviolence,” will begin with a youth rally at Miller Plaza on September 15 beginning at noon. The event will include music, food and opportunities to meet with local service providers and obtain information on colleges and careers. The event will carry the theme “Be the Change.”
When Dr. Gandhi lands in Chattanooga on Monday, his first stop will be a visit to Renaissance Community Garden. Burundian refugees nurture the garden, providing a metaphor for growing a community. A bench donated by City Councilman Manny Rico and Rico Monuments will be installed to commemorate the visit. The bench will carry the inscription “In the garden of good and evil, choose the good.” Dr. Gandhi will bless the garden and spend time talking with its residents.
Dr. Gandhi will spend Tuesday morning visiting Recreate Cafe at the Salvation Army on McCallie Avenue. The community space is open to Chattanooga’s homeless population for arts and education programming and community gatherings. The cast of this summer’s production of “Godspell” will return to Recreate to perform the song “Beautiful City” for Dr. Gandhi. For lunch, Dr. Gandhi will join the Chattanooga Community Kitchen to break bread with volunteers, donors, homeless clients and the general public.
That afternoon, Dr. Gandhi will visit The Howard School to speak on “A Season of Nonviolence.” The school has invited all Hamilton County high school students to attend the event.
A Mayoral Proclamation will be presented at City Council on the Tuesday of Dr. Gandhi’s visit, marking the City of Chattanooga’s commitment to becoming a “Season for Nonviolence” city in January 2013. Only a handful of cities in the nation have received this distinction. The season launches on January 30, 2013, commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, and culminates on April 4, 2013, commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination.
On Wednesday morning, Dr. Gandhi will visit Baylor School and speak at its convocation as well as interact with students during small group sessions.
Following lunch at Baylor School, Dr. Gandhi will make a series of short visits to several social service agencies that serve foster children - including the Gardner House for Boys, the YMCA’s Y-CAP gym and Chambliss Home Children’s Shelter. He also will attend the unveiling of a mural titled “Season for Nonviolence,” which youth at Brainerd Recreation Center painted and local artist Bobbie Crowe facilitated.
The Chattanooga India Association will host a community-wide celebration Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Chattanooga Hindu Temple, located at 7421 Bonny Oaks Drive. Dr. Gandhi’s will call for Chattanooga’s Indian community to play a larger role connecting with the legacy they have with Gandhi’s message and work of nonviolence.
On Thursday, Dr. Gandhi will present the keynote address at the 2012 Connecting the Dots Summit, an annual event exploring arts and social issues. Co-sponsors include Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga, United Way of Greater Chattanooga and the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture.
This year’s summit will include mediation and conflict resolution training presented by the Chattanooga Bar Association and facilitated by Executive Director Lynda Minks Hood, Gang Task Force Director Boyd Patterson and City Councilwoman Carol Berz. Students from the Howard School, Baylor School, CSAS, CCA and Signal Mountain High School will be trained in conflict resolution with a focus on addressing issues like bullying and gang violence.
The summit will feature recording artist T-Ran Gilbert and The Voice’s Sera Hill singing “Need You Now.”
At 3:15 p.m., Dr. Gandhi will tour Brainerd Mission. Native American flutist Mike Serna will accompany him. At 4:15 p.m., Dr. Gandhi will visit Eastgate Senior Activity Center to listen to sitarist Joe Ridolfo prior to his blessing of Eastgate Library and the delivery of his keynote address, “A Season for Nonviolence,” from the Eastgate Town Center stage at 5 p.m.
Wrapping up his weeklong visit to Chattanooga on Friday, Dr. Gandhi will present the keynote address at the Tennessee Economic Council on Women at the Chattanoogan at 8:15 a.m. Following the conference, he will tour T.C. Thompson’s Children’s Hospital and Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences.
Visit “ChattanoogaEAC” on Facebook for Dr. Gandhi’s full itinerary.
Mayor Ron Littlefield said, “We welcome Dr. Arun Gandhi to Chattanooga along with his message of nonviolence. We look forward to learning from Dr. Gandhi’s expertise on nonviolence and incorporating these principles into our regional effort to address gang violence and empowering our young people to be part of the solution.”
Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd said, “Gandhi’s message of nonviolence speaks to all of us. Everyone can be part of the progress as we address issues of gang violence in our schools and across our county. This is a once in a lifetime experience, and the students and community members who will be meeting with Dr. Gandhi will never forget it. We have the momentum to carry on this vision in Hamilton County and Chattanooga, and everyone can be part of it.”
EAC Administrator Missy Crutchfield said, “In a time of increased violence and community-wide awareness that we have to do something, we are inviting Dr. Gandhi, one of the world’s preeminent experts on nonviolence ... to address our city on a variety of levels. With Dr. Gandhi’s visit, we begin an ongoing community-wide effort to educate our youth and adults about nonviolence and how these principles begin with each citizen.”