Saturday, June 18, 2011

The doings of the Martin Luther King Center... Video and dialogue presentation with Daisy Rojas

I really enjoyed staying at the Martin Luther King Center while we were in Cuba. I was even more excited to hear more about how the center was formed and what it actually offered to the community. The Martin Luther King Center in Havana is promoting an environment for those who are committed to a life of Christianity. The center helps with so much like distributing medicine for those who are not aware or are not able to get them. It is a center that also contains education for their community. Another thing the center does is involves itself with movements, sometimes these movements are international. Daisy Rojas really exemplified these actions, through a video, that the Center demonstrated.

First I am going to describe when and how the center evolved. The Martin Luther King Center came to be "during the era of MLK Jr., 1959 to 1968, Cuban church leaders, especially those who led congregations with members of Africcan descent, were inspired by the nonviolent social change strategies and movements in the United States. The desire for justice, equality, and reconciliation was sweeping the world" (para 2, Institue for Human Rights and Responsibilities, Inc.). Havana, Cuba was ready for a change and this change was what they were searching for.

After the Revolution of 1959, in the 1960s, pastors all over Cuba wanted to understand the movements and reprucussions of the Revloution. The Martin Luther King Center also incorporated a baptist church, which is right next to it. We got to have the chance to experience a service given by the church. From what I heard from classmates, it was a service that they would never forget. Relgion has a significant part and meaning to the lives of the people involved with the center. The community really benefits from the center.

The center offeres hospitality to those who need a place to stay, groups from outside the country, and a spiritual environment. We were given the awesome opportunity to not only stay in the center, but also hear about how impactful the center was for those in the community. It was a great start to our stay in Cuba.

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