An international exhibit featuring peace advocates Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Daisaku Ikeda will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 14 at California State University, Fresno.
“Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace” features photographs, quotations and historical information about the human rights leaders. There is no admission charge and the display will be open to the public in University Student Union Rooms 312-314.
Hosts are the Central Valley Cultural Heritage Institute, Sigma Alpha Lambda (a leadership and honors organization), the Buddhist Value Creation Society Student Club and Soka Gakkai International-USA of Central California, part of a Buddhist association that promotes world peace and individual happiness. Fresno State professor emeritus Sudarshan Kapoor, who was instrumental in establishing the Fresno State Peace Garden where monuments of Gandhi and King are erected, also is a sponsor.
The exhibit delivers a message about the difference one person can make in promoting peace through nonviolent action, said Meaghan Young, event organizer and Fresno State alum.
“It reflects the lives of three men from different cultures and countries who followed that common path of profound dedication and achievement in addressing the plight of the common people,” Young said.
She said Gandhi’s civil disobedience and nonviolent demonstrations won greater freedom and ultimately independence for 400 million citizens of India after three centuries of British rule. King’s commitment to peace and justice inspired the movement for civil and human rights, giving voice to the hopes and dreams of the poor and dispossessed throughout the world, Young said.
Ikeda’s work – he is international president of SGI — as a Buddhist philosopher, author, poet and educator has led to the nonviolent democratization of Japan’s feudalistic social structures and an international grassroots initiative of intercultural and interfaith dialogue and cooperation for global peace.
“Having fought selflessly in their respective time, each has left an enduring legacy for humanity, illuminating the path to nonviolence, human rights and peace,” Young said.
The exhibit also will be on display beginning July 15 at the SGI-USA Fresno Activity Center, 4747 N. First St.
For more information or SGI-USA hours, contact Young at 559.312.6115
Fresno State map: http://www.fresnostate.edu/map/
