(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 1/18/19) — On Saturday, January 5, 2019, CAIR-Columbus Public Affairs Coordinator Usjid Hameed attended the Gandhi King Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice hosted by the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, CA.
The two-day long institute sought to carry on Dr. King’s work as well as bring together icons from the 1960s civil rights movement and activists of today from across the country.
Figures from the time of Dr. King included Minnijean Brown-Trickey, who was a part of “the Little Rock Nine” in 1957, Bernard Lafayette, who participated in the Freedom Rides in Alabama and was a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Andrew Young, who was one of Dr.King’s closest confidants and the Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and many others. The gathering was called by Clarence Jones, Dr. King’s personal attorney and close adviser.
“I felt incredibly honored to have attended the convening as a representative of CAIR-Columbus and the Andrew Goodman Foundation,” Hameed said after the institute. “Many of the rights enjoyed by American-Muslims today were won in the 1960s thanks to non-violent activism. It was amazing to have spoken with people from that era who were willing to sacrifice everything for the cause of justice and equality.”
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. The CAIR-Ohio affiliate has three chapters in Ohio – Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Their mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
***Cover photo by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands