Whenever one of our citizens is lost to the violence of this city, we plunge closer and closer to that tragic midnight of hopelessness. But in spite of the darkness of these days, we must not despair. The deaths of our brothers and sisters may lead our city from the low road of man's inhumanity to the high roads of peace and brotherhood. For all of us though, the struggle for peace is in our hands. If we as a people are to rise out of the rubble of indignity, it will require a qualitative change in our wills as well as a quantitative change in our lives. If we are to forge chaos into community, we must have faith that even the most misguided among us can see the dignity and value of all human personalities. If we are to create a beloved community, what is needed is a great social awakening, and we the good citizens of New Orleans must lead this city to this lighted path of peace.

Against the violent of this city, we possess a powerful weapon: non-violent resistance. Mahatma Gandhi called this "Satyagraha". "Satya" means "truth" or "love" and "Graha " means "force" so together it means "truth-force" or "soul-force". As Martin Luther King Jr. defined it, "Non-violent resistance is the courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love." And as Martin Luther King Jr. so often reminded us, this love is not a sentimental or affectionate sort of thing. It is best shown through the Greek language which has three words for love; eros, philia and agape. This love is not "eros" which is a kind of aesthetic love--a love of beauty much like the romantic love between Romeo and Juliet. It does not mean "Philia" which is a mutual affection between friends much like the love between Falstaff and Prince Hal. There is a third word for love which is the strongest of all loves. This is "Agape" in the Greek language and "Ahimsa " in the Gandhian language. "Ahimsa" is a creative, redemptive, understanding good will to humanity. It is born from the overflowing of spirit and the abundance of joy that comes from God's love for us. It is a powerful love that shows all the Nietzsches of the world that God is still alive in the minds of men. With this love in our hearts, we feel the creative force of the universe uniting the fragmented and chaotic aspects of reality into a harmonious and dynamic whole. When we rise to this level of love, we love the person who does the evil deed while despising the deed that he does. This ahimsa might be the salvation for this city. It is powerful enough to resist evil and it is tender-hearted to resist it with truth and non-violence.

Behind the basic and simple philosophy of non-violent resistance, there is a strong dynamic for social change. Non-violent resistance clings to one truth: by means of suffering harm for another's evils, a resister can change the hearts of their oppressors. The self-sufferer gladly accepts any hate and harm the oppressor channels towards him. But we should not be mistaken, this resistance is not a cowardly compliance to cruelty, for the resister refuses to back down, and states with courage, "I cannot remain silent as this great city faces the threat of being plunged into the abyss of spiritual annihilation". 

At first though, non-violence does more to change the resister than his oppressor. Those who suffer are filled with a new sense of self-respect that comes from fathoming the wells of courage and strength from the inner depth of their spirit. As they overcome again and again their weariness, they come to understand more clearly the difference between what is everlasting and what is not. The craving for satisfaction gives way to a yearning for unity. Out of the joy of spiritual excellence emerges a will no flood can submerge. 

Faced with the force of a hundred voices, a thousand voices willing to suffer for another's soul, the conscience of the oppressor is flooded with doubts of his own humanity. In the presence of this massive act of concern, the oppressor's image of humanity as a brutish, power-hungry animal is directly questioned. The oppressor will be forced to stand before these good men,splattered with the blood and reeking with the stench of his lost brother. His shame will be a powerful force, and when persistent, it is powerful enough to transformation the hearts of even the most stubborn of tyrants.

All this talk of the dynamics of non-violent action would be nonsense without a comprehensive strategy for change.  New Orleans' non-violent campaign has three aspects. First, we must dramatize the evil of violence, generate power and pressure for change and mobilize the forces of good will through creative protest. We will use fasts, marches, pilgrimages, commemorations, prayer and music vigils to call attention to the degrading vortex of crime in New Orleans. Second, we will directly confront those citizens at-risk to violence. The community will then collectively use their resources to guide these members to a constructive life within the community. Third, we will strive to remedy root causes of violence through  "The Constructive Program." We will use our democratic powers to creatively reform the institutions and policies concerning the educational, penal, and judicial systems. There is no easy way to create a city where men and women can live together in peace, where each has his own job and house and where all children recieve as much education as their minds can absorb. There is a monstrous task before us.

We must ask among us, who are those who have such creative powers to stand five thousand years of "truth" on its head? Who has the courage to bring forth a new day of compassion? Who has the will to concern themselves with such maybes, such dangerous maybes?  We Satyagrahis of New Orleans, we free, very free spirits, who still feel the whole need of the spirit of this city. There are such attempters growing right now, who too often see the degeneration of a city once proud in her dance, once noble in her art, and once dangerous in her greatness. They see her destruction yet they still long for her life. These daring citizens will be those experimenters of truth who once drowned in the savage floods of pessimism, but now, they will raise up, clinging to the faith of man's humanity. These daring citizens will be those geniuses of the heart who once withered in the dark infernos of solitude, but now, they will erupt out, eager to plunge into the vast sea of sacrifice. These daring citizens will be those free spirits of New Orleans who once were crushed under the monstrous mountain of disappointment, but now they will celebrate, dancing in the joyous sunrays of hope, alive with the glory of love. Yes New Orleans, this peace is possible, but for all of us today, the struggle is in our hands. Rise up New Orleans, let them hear you across the distance, rise up and let them know of your resistance.