Panel discusses community building 40 years after MLK’s death

A group of Bloomington residents gathered in the Second Baptist Church Thursday evening to discuss how to create the ‘beloved community’ Martin Luther King Jr. once preached about.\nThe event “Forty Years Later: Towards Building the Beloved Community” was part of the City of Bloomington’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Commission’s events to commemorate the 40-year anniversary of King’s death. \nThe discussion panel consisted of representatives from various religious denominations. Graduate student and Second Baptist Church member Jeremy Gilmore, Bloomington Hospital chaplain Rev. John VanderZee, Beth Shalom Rabbi Mira Wasserman, Islamic Center’s Katrin Jomaa, St. Paul’s Catholic Church Father Richard Litzau and Baha’i’ representative Blair Johnson. \nThe discussion started with David Hummons, vice chair for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, and Second Baptist Church Pastor Bruce Rose introducing all of \nthe panelists.\n“We wanted to host the event in celebration of Dr. (Martin) Luther King Jr.,” Rose said before the discussion, “because the dream \nstill continues.”\nGilmore started the discussion by proposing that the audience define a “beloved community” before they could attempt to create one. \nHe suggested the community has to have characteristics of respect and has to strip away racism. \n“(We have to) create a piece of heaven on earth,” Gilmore said. \nLitzau then shared his memories of King’s death, which occurred when he was 16 years old. \n“It formed me in ways I didn’t know,” Litzau said. \nSince then, Litzau said he has tried to help “one person at a time” through his religion.\nLike Litzau, VanderZee shared his experience of where he was when he heard about King’s death.\nVanderZee said at the time he did not know many blacks, but thanks to King’s death, he got insight to a \ndifferent world. \n“His voice was only an echo of the eternal truth,” VanderZee said.\nVanderZee said the only way he thinks we can begin to build a community is by learning from King’s example of learning to listen and having the courage to act \nupon injustices.\nJohnson, who was not alive during the time of King’s assassination, said the best way to build a community is to realize that not one certain thing has the solution to everything. \nThe public must learn to use religion and law as a way to eliminate the “isms” of the world, \nJohnson said. \nJomaa said, like Johnson, she was not around when \nKing died. \nJomaa, originally from Lebanon, took her time to show how King’s famous quotes relate to the \nMuslim religion. \nJomaa said a “beloved community” is created by learning how to live together instead of just erasing the cultural differences that make us unique.\nRabbi Wasserman said she liked to reflect on how there are many positive things that have occurred since King’s assassination. \n“He articulated a vision of America where people were not just tolerated, but accepted,” Wasserman said. \nAlthough all panelists had no definite solution of how to create a “beloved community,” Wasserman said even talking about one is a start.\n“(A) beloved community starts with telling our own stories,” Wasserman said. “We have to open ourselves to hearing about \ninconvenient injustices.”