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Rome, 4th April 2008: The Martin Luther King Award
by Mattia camellini
ROME, 21st April 2008 - On the fourth of April in Rome
almost two thousand people, many
 of them standing,
braved the freezing evening to take part in the four
hour long presentation of the Martin Luther King Award
for Human Rights. The evening, organized by the Italian
Baptist Union and the Lott Carey Foreign Mission
Convention together with the generous support of the
city of Rome couldn’t have gone better. Right from the
start we were aware that not only church members would
have filled the square due to the coverage the event had
received beforehand in the local and national
newspapers.
 In Rome the commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of
the assassination of Martin Luther King began in the
morning with a programme of words and music held at the
Professional State School “Teresa Confalonieri”. In the
main hall readings from King were interspersed with the
Gospel Choir “Life Waters Ministries International” led
by Negleatha Johnson and the “Jazz Game Project” group
as well as with speeches by the person responsible for
relations with the schools from the Rome council and
testimonies from the United States: Councillor Dr.
William A. Bell from the Birmingham City Council
(Alabama) and Dr. Laurence J. Pijeaux, president of the
Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham.
 In Rome the commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of
the assassination of Martin Luther King began in the
morning with a programme of words and music held at the
Professional State School “Teresa Confalonieri”. In the
main hall readings from King were interspersed with the
Gospel Choir “Life Waters Ministries International” led
by Negleatha Johnson and the “Jazz Game Project” group
as well as with speeches by the person responsible for
relations with the schools from the Rome council and
testimonies from the United States: Councillor Dr.
William A. Bell from the Birmingham City Council
(Alabama) and Dr. Laurence J. Pijeaux, president of the
Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham.
 At 19.00 everything was ready and people started to
arrive in order to have one of the five hundred seats
which were soon filled. In front of the stage “I have a
dream” was written in giant letters while behind the
stage the Campidoglio palace was lit up with coloured
lights. At 20.00 Mario Morcone who has been heading the
Rome city council since Walter Veltroni resigned arrived
and Past. Silvia Rapisarda was able to begin the
proceedings. The event was divided into three parts. In
the first, short films showed the important moments both
of King’s life and of the Civil Rights Movement. A
minute of silence was held to commemorate his brutal
assassination on the Lorraine Motel balcony in Memphis.
The Gospel Choir “Life Waters Ministries International”
sang various spirituals as the most moving moments of
King’s life were recalled including the famous hymn
“Take my hand” which King had asked to be sung that very
evening in Memphis.
 Then followed the official speeches. Pastor Anna Maffei,
President of the Italian Baptist Union in her brief and
touching welcome reminded us how relevant - in the
presence of racist ideologies - King’s teaching is for
today. While religious and multicultural differences are
enriching for all, they should not be confused with
social and economic differences which penalize the
weaker part. We and gypsies, for example, are equal, in
our needs, in our right to love and be loved, in our
human rights, as people. The Commissaire Mario Martone,
representing the Council of Rome, said that as soon as
the Italian Baptist Union had presented the project, the
then mayor, Walter Veltroni had decided to support it.
Next the city elder of Birmingham Council. William Bell,
spoke of his experience as the first black mayor of
Birmingham as well as the first afroamerican to head the
city council. His witness showed how the civil rights
movement had led to concrete changes. Laurence J.
Pijeaux, on the other hand, stated how difficult it had
been in an America which tries to forget its racist
past, to found the Institute for Civil Rights over which
he presides. In the end, tenacity won out and the museum
is visited by millions of people from all over the
world.
 In the second part of the evening the Vice-president of
the Baptist Union, Past. Salvatore Rapisarda introduced
the Martin Luther King Award for Human Rights, saying
how difficult it had been for the examining commission
given the number and quality of the various candidates.
In the end, however, the Naples Peace School and the
Onlus Iroko Association from Turin were declared joint
winners. The prize and the three special mentions (the
Rome Arci civil service, the Colombia Vive Onlus and
Claudio Turina) were presented by Eckert Coen, the mayor
of Rome’s delegate for interculture and multiethnicity
and by Edouard Kibongui from the Executive Committee of
the Baptist Union. The evening was brought to a close by
a magnificent concert offered by the Orchestra of Piazza
Vittorio a multiethnic group made up of 16 musicians
from nine different countries which well brought out the
spirit and message of the award.
© 2006 Ucebi - P.zza San Lorenzo in Lucina 35, 00186
Roma
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