NCRP member to speak at Martin Luther King Memorial Dedication

(Editor's note: The Aug. 29 event following the MLK Memorial Dedication was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. Plans are underway to schedule another event at a later date in another location. Stay tuned for more news. - added Oct. 11))

Dave Nichols, one of the key figures at the Charlotte, North Carolina site of the Center’s National Community Resiliency Project, has been invited to speak at a very special event on Aug. 29, 2011.

Artist's rendition of the monumental
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Dave has been asked by Dr. Virgil A. Wood to speak for five minutes at a three-hour meeting of 100 guests the morning following the unveiling of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C.

An educator and activist, Dr. Virgil A. Wood worked closely with Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights movement. Wood coordinated the State of Virginia in the Historic March on Washington in 1963. Among Wood’s publications is In Love We Trust: Lessons I Learned From Martin Luther King.

Dave was introduced to Dr. Wood last month by psychiatrist and long-time 3 Principles practitioner Dr. Bill Pettit. Dave and his staff and volunteers have been instrumental in initiating a Three Principles presence in Charlotte through the successes of the non-profit Lakewood Community Development Corporation, for which Dave serves as executive director. In Lakewood, crime rates have dropped and civic participation has increased since Dave and his staff committed to underpinning all of their community building activities with a Principles-based approach in 2007.

Now that the King Memorial is ready for unveiling, Dr. Wood has challenged Americans to raise $250 million, double the amount of money raised to fund the Memorial itself. The money will be used to fund projects to help the underprivileged in memory of Dr. King.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial is being created to honor Dr. King’s contributions to world peace through non-violent social change. To learn more about the Memorial and take a virtual tour, go to www.mlkmemorial.org

More about our National Community Resiliency Project can be found in the report, Awakening the Beloved Community, available by contacting the Center for Sustainable Change.

by Maureen Latta, CSC Grants Manager