Daniel Manichello reports from the Community Food Security Conference
While the 9th annual Community Food Security Conference begins tomorrow here in Atlanta, Georgia, attendees were today offered a number of field trips in the area as well as short courses in the host hotel. An all-day Civil Rights tour of this southern city included a visit to monuments honoring the life and achievement of Atlanta-born civil rights champion the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The National Historic Site, encompassing a number of buildings on both sides of Auburn Avenue in a vibrant African-American community close to downtown Atlanta includes the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father were co-pastors in the late 1950s. It was in these surroundings of home, church and neighborhood that MLK, Jr. learned about segregation in the days of "Jim Crow" laws, diligence and tolerance. Dr. King is now buried here though his legacy and actions of non-violence during the civil rights struggles of this country continue to echo not only domestically but all over the world.
Atlanta is also home to former President Jimmy Carter's Presidential Center and Library. The connection to another civil rights activist from Atlanta is not a coincidence. The 39th President of the United States has been very committed to the cause of human rights all over the world since his presidency and remains very active through his non-governmental organization, the Carter Center. The Carter Center, adjacent to the Presidential Center, works in over 65 countries, building democracies, eradicating disease and building hope for better futures in some of the least developed regions of the globe. President Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, built the Carter Center in suburban Atlanta in 1986 in order to foster peace and respect for human rights, a place where leaders and advocates could meet and develop mutually beneficial relationships. One aspect of the work the Carter Center is proud to highlight is their desire to fund and carry out projects which are necessarily being done by other NGO's or groups. For example, the Carter Center has nearly wiped out Guinea Worm which affects small villages from West Africa to South Asia.
The Atlanta civil rights tour certainly served as a worthy introduction to the Community Food Security Conference and its theme of "Cultivating the Roots of Real Change." Many activists in civil rights, in social justice, in community change; while not quite yet with the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Jimmy Carter, will be sharing their work and looking for opportunities to work together over the next three days.
Daniel Manichello is a program assistant for WHY International.
