Tuesday’s “Common Ground for Peace” panel was a far different scene than that of the Monday panels. Though it did not feature the Dalai Lama, the much smaller crowd made for a more intimate setting.

This panel, which had only been announced a few days beforehand, had only about 100 audience members filling the folding chairs set up on the auditorium floor. The smaller audience allowed for more interaction, as well as a more focused and in-depth discussion among panelists.

The panel, titled “The Past is Not the Past: The Continuing Quest for Racial Justice and Peace,” took place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium. Panelists included Andrew Young, a civil rights leader and former U.N. ambassador; Martin Luther King III; and Syracuse University professors Linda Carty and Janis McDonald. Paula Johnson, another SU professor, served as both the moderator and a panelist.

The point of the panel, Johnson said, was to address topics raised by the Dalai Lama and others at Monday’s panels, as well as to focus more on national issues such as racial injustice in the United States.

“Sometimes it can be easier for us to look at larger concerns or more distant places rather than the local people, the local issues that affect us,” she said.

The discussion among the panelists focused on how peace relates to justice and how institutional structures factor into the discussion. Johnson started the discussion with a simple question: Can there be peace without justice?

While America is a nation that claims to have justice, this justice does not apply to everyone, King said, and there cannot be true peace unless there is justice for all people.

He pointed to the criminal system as an example. African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population, but more than 60 percent of the jail population, King said.

“The late, great Richie Pryor captured it by saying, ‘When you go down to the courthouse looking for justice, all you find is just us,’” he said.

Young, the former U.N. ambassador, took a different approach to the question, saying he never believed justice would be possible in his lifetime. Instead, he said individuals should offer their enemies mercy and seek to achieve reconciliation.

When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Young and others had to decide whether to pursue justice for him. Ultimately, they decided to continue King’s work instead of trying to bring the killer to justice, Young said.

“I can’t expect justice,” Young said. “I have to find peace within myself and stay calm and reasonable and tactical enough to survive, and in order to do that, I have to be merciful toward my oppressors.”

McDonald drew on her experience as co-director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative, a project that seeks to find justice for racially motivated murders during the Civil Rights era. She said before there can be justice, it is necessary to know who has suffered.

Many of the crimes the initiative investigates were never reported and received no attention from media or officials. Accountability needs to come before reconciliation and mercy, especially in terms of acknowledging the suffering that occurred, McDonald said.

The discussion also centered on how institutional structures such as the media and government influence peace and justice.

When Pakistani terrorists attacked India, Young said, India did not react “catastrophically,” but instead worked with the Pakistani government to bring the terrorists to justice, improving their relationship with Pakistan in the process.

But when terrorists attacked America, the United States spent a trillion dollars to go to war and find the terrorists — money that could have been spent better elsewhere, Young said.

King echoed Young’s sentiments, noting the role war and the military industrial complex play in American life.

“Do we have to respond by retaliating? What if America took a different tone?” King said. “Strength is not necessarily showing that you can blow someone off the planet.”

The topic of how to respond to complex issues was also present in an exchange between McDonald and Carty about race relations and how individuals should talk about race.

Speaking to the white students in the room, McDonald urged them to not be afraid to talk about race. White people are often afraid of being seen as racist, so the topic of race becomes a conversation stopper, McDonald said.

“I’d just like to say to all of you, please, abandon that fear and get in the midst of this conversation,” she said. “Start talking to each other and being honest about it and moving forward.”

Adding to what McDonald said, Carty noted that many black people are also afraid of talking about race because society often punishes people for talking about it. They do not want to be labeled as angry or frustrated.

“Your silence will not protect you,” she said.

Karin Abrahamsson, an sophomore undeclared major in the College of Arts and Sciences who attended the panel, said she was particularly moved when King shared what civil rights leader Hosea Williams said about his father. Williams described him as someone who “conquered love of wealth and fear of death.”

She rolled up her sleeve, revealing that quote, which she had written on her arm. She said the quote was very influential to her and inspired her to make a change in her life and be more active.

Throughout the discussion, Young also stressed the need to work for change.

“This is a lifetime struggle,” Young said. “I am old and I am physically tired, but I don’t see any way around this struggle. I’ve been around too long and I know too much to keep quiet.”

Published on October 10, 2012 at 2:57 am

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