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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 16, 2005 Their fathers’ sons Martin Luther King III and Robert F. Kennedy will speak at World Wellness Weekend By Jud Schwartz For the Revels Thirty-seven years ago, America was a nation divided. There was rioting in the streets of our cities, and the Vietnam war was raging. The Civil Rights Movement was being led by Martin Luther King Jr., who on April 4, 1968, was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. That night, while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president, Robert Kennedy made a short, impassioned plea for calm in the face of civil unrest. Two months later to the day, June 4, 1968, he was assassinated after winning the California Primary. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were both men of peace and action. RFK Jr. was only 14 and MLK III only 10. I remember those incidents very clearly still, and I was only 11, the same age as my son today. In 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets to demand a cleaner environment — 10 percent of the population of America at that time. It was the largest public demonstration in American history. It was the first Earth Day. Because of that action, in 1972 Republicans and Democrats worked together to create the Environmental Protection Agency under President Nixon. Congress then passed 28 major environmental laws. A clean environment was not a partisan issue. The cleaning of America had begun. It was the 1970s and I was in college in California, believing that anything was possible. The Vietnam War ended after years of demonstrations, we had been to the moon and back several times, and the personal computer age was just in its infancy. I remember thinking what a great world it would be when we finally made it into the 21st century. Our generation, the baby boomer generation, would be in power, and the world would be a far more healthier, peaceful and loving place because of us, the dreamers. It is now 37 years since those fateful days in 1968. Our nation is once again involved in a war halfway around the world with young men and women from our neighborhoods being killed in the name of democracy. We feel far more at risk from terrorism in America now than at anytime in our history. Our civil rights to privacy are being tampered with in the name of protecting America. A clean environment, which is our most basic civil right and which was not a partisan issue in 1972, is now an extraordinary battleground between the left and right. The environmental laws that we so vigorously fought for are being dismantled on the pretense of economic necessity. We live in a nation divided. Most people feel powerless as the corporate landscape is so overwhelming. It is from this situation that this year’s World Wellness Weekend has been created. Last year with keynote speaker Deepak Chopra there was an emphasis on personal spirituality and growth. As we continue this personal growth and evolution of spirit, we now must take the opportunity to bring forward into our community the changes that we wish to implement. We have the power to make our communities in ways we all want them to be — with a healthy, clean environment, with the right to live, love, and worship as we please, giving our children the best education possible, having food that is healthy to eat, and being able to choose what kind of health care we want. These are our undeniable rights. This is what "wellness" means to me. With that we welcome two men who have followed in their fathers’ footsteps in public service: Robert Kennedy Jr., as a champion for a clean environment, and Martin Luther King III, continuing the work for civil rights for all people. We also welcome the hundreds of other exhibitors and speakers who have come to share their knowledge and expertise to help us as individuals and as a community to be happier, healthier and empowered for positive change. Let’s take this opportunity to take control of what we can control: our personal lives within our communities and, therefore, our communities themselves. When the people lead, the leaders will follow. I have a dream: that we as a nation will rise up and come together to embrace the challenges that face us today, and that on Father’s Day 37 years from now my son and his family and friends will not be facing these same challenges; that the world will be a happier, healthier, peaceful and more loving place. But it is up to us to begin again. Right here and right now. Welcome. Martin Luther King III Martin Luther King III, the second-oldest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, has been motivating audiences around the world with his insightful message of hope and civility for nearly 20 years. He has taken the torch lit by his father and continued the quest for equality and justice for all people. From Mozambique to Mississippi, Israel to Indiana, his message has touched thousands. A moving and popular speaker, Martin Luther King III is equally comfortable in high school gymnasiums, corporate boardrooms and university lecture halls. King’s humble spirit and disarming wit are universally embraced. His most popular message is "The Dream Deferred," an examination of the goals of Martin Luther King Jr. in today’s society. A human rights advocate, community activist and political leader, King has been actively involved in significant policy initiatives to maintain the fair and equitable treatment of all citizens, at home and abroad. His missions have taken him to numerous nations throughout Africa, Europe and Asia. His messages and initiatives are all rooted within the tenets of nonviolent conflict resolution. In 1986, King was elected to political office as an at-large representative of over 700,000 residents of Fulton County, Ga. His tenure on the Board of Commissioners was marked by legislation regulating minority business participation in public contracting, strong ethics legislation, purification of the county’s natural water resources and stringent hazardous-waste disposal requirements. Committed to the personal, educational and skill development of youth, he has initiated several programs throughout the years to support and nurture young people. Among them were the King Summer Intern Program to provide employment opportunities for high school students; Hoops for Health, a charity basketball game intended to increase public awareness of newborn babies who suffer the effects of substance abuse; and A Call to Manhood, an annual event designed to unite young African-American males with positive adult role models. In addition to addressing many youth groups and volunteering for several youth- and young adult-oriented projects, one of King’s writing projects is directed to young people. His current signature youth project is the annual Kindness and Justice Challenge, sponsored by Do Something. In the spring of 2001, King hosted a cable series on the Wisdom Network entitled "The Wisdom of Dreams." The program presented the stories of individuals who were able to achieve extraordinary feats by pursuing their dreams. On Nov. 1, 1997, King was unanimously elected the fourth president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization that his father co-founded in 1957. An active member of the Board of Directors, King has devoted much of his adulthood to the continuance of his father’s mission through the many programs of the SCLC. His tenure began on Jan. 15, 1998, the anniversary date of his father’s birth, and continued through Dec. 1, 2003. While leading the SCLC, King aggressively fought injustice on many fronts. SCLC was the first national organization to pull its annual convention from the state of South Carolina to protest the flying of the Confederate flag atop its state capitol. He recently led the successful charge to bring down the "Stars and Bars" on the flag of his home state of Georgia. In 1999, SCLC convened police brutality hearings in 11 cities in the U.S. to address police misconduct, brutality and racial profiling based upon race, ethnicity or socio-economic class. The culmination of the hearings was an anniversary March on Washington in August of 2000, which highlighted the issue for the nation. Other signature programs under King’s guidance include the Stop the Killing — End the Violence campaign that is anchored by the Gun Buy-Back program. King and the SCLC finalized an agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to advise housing authorities in 15 U.S. cities on conducting gun buy-backs. To date, the organization has collected over 10,000 guns across the U.S. in this unique approach. On Jan. 19, 2004 King assumed his current position as CEO and president of the King Center after a unanimous vote by the Board. King received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Ga., where he majored in political science. Martin Luther King III was nurtured among individuals deeply committed to the struggle for human rights and a nonviolent society. He has assimilated and utilized those values in his personal and public life. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful legal actions. Kennedy was named one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" for his success helping Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. This action began as a result of public outcry in Oregon to clean up the Willamette River, which led to the federal Clean Water Act in 1972. The group's achievement helped spawn more than 125 Riverkeeper organizations across the globe, including River- keepers-Portland, who continue the cleanup effort of the Willamette River. Kennedy serves as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic and is co-host of “Ring of Fire” on Air America Radio. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant district attorney in New York City. He has been active in several political campaigns, including the presidential campaigns of Edward M. Kennedy in 1980, Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. He has worked on environmental issues across the Americas and has assisted several indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada in successfully negotiating treaties protecting traditional homelands. He is credited with leading the fight to protect New York City's water supply. The New York City watershed agreement, which he negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development. Once the butt of many jokes when it caught fire in the ’80s near Albany, New York, The Hudson River is now one of the most biologically rich river systems in the world. He is now leading the fight to turn back the anti-environmental legislation of our recent Congress. RFK Jr. credits his father, the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, for his passion for the environment: “As far back as I can remember, I was drawn to nature. My father brought me to some of the most beautiful wild places in America. He taught me that wilderness was the source of our values and our character, and that we had to protect it for the next generation. But the principle that came to govern my father’s life, I think, was civil rights. And I believe there’s no more crucial civil rights issue than environmental protection.” Among Kennedy's published books are The New York Times’ best-seller “Crimes Against Nature” (2004), “The Riverkeepers” (1997) and “Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr: A Biography” (1977). His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Nation, Outside Magazine, The Village Voice and many other publications. His award-winning articles have been included in anthologies of America’s Best Crime Writing, Best Political Writing and Best Science Writing. As well, he is an avid white-water paddler and licensed master falconer. He has organized and led several expeditions in Canada and Latin America. Kennedy is a graduate of Harvard University. He studied at the London School of Economics and received his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. Following graduation, he attended Pace University School of Law, where he was awarded a Masters Degree in Environmental Law. 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