Martin Luther King, Jr. in Hawaii: The Lessons Continue

In 1959, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Hawaii where he witnessed a level of racial integration not known on the mainland. Here is an excerpt of his speech at the Hawaii House of Representatives First Special Session:

“I come to you with a great deal of appreciation and great feeling of appreciation, I should say, for what has been accomplished in this beautiful setting and in this beautiful state of our Union. As I think of the struggle that we are engaged in in the South land, we look to you for inspiration and as a noble example, where you have already accomplished in the area of racial harmony and racial justice, what we are struggling to accomplish in other sections of the country, and you can never know what it means to those of us caught for the moment in the tragic and often dark midnight of man’s inhumanity to man, to come to a place where we see the glowing daybreak of freedom and dignity and racial justice.”

What Dr. King saw was true to an extent. However, what Dr. King did not see or know at the time was that the Hawaiian Kingdom had been illegally overthrown by wealthy American plantation owners and illegally annexed by the United States. He also did not see the prejudice and racism against the native Hawaiians and immigrants by those in power. He did not see how the Hawaiian language, culture, wisdom and spirituality were outlawed and suppressed, forcing many Hawaiians to loose their identity.

Today in Hawaii, the work continues in order to correct the injustices and destruction of our environment perpetuated by a corrupt political and corporate power structure. A grass roots movement has sprung up in Hawaii based on the concepts of Gandhi and Dr. King. The movement uses the principle of Kapu Aloha, which centers around aloha (love, compassion, kindness and grace), pono (justice and righteousness), aloha ʻāina (love of the earth), non-violence and Hawaiian spirituality. This spirituality recognizes the oneness of all existence, that Spirit resides in all of creation.

A number of years ago at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Service, I was invited to offer the closing prayer.  As a speaker, I allow Spirit to guide my words and usually speak without a script or with just notes. So the following prayer is an approximation of the prayer I offered. It is based on a Sanskrit prayer and peace meditation that the Hindu spiritual teacher Amma (known as the Hugging Saint) offers at her programs, along with an Hawaiian prayer, quotes from Dr. King and a Jewish blessing.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Service Closing Prayer

E Ke Akua, Dear God, we thank you for our lives, for this community, for the many blessing in our lives and for the blessings of being able to live on this wondrous island of Maui. We thank you for the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who taught us so much about love and peace.

E Ke Akua e hō mai, Dear God, grant us your everlasting grace.

E Ke Akua e hō mai i ka manaʻoʻiʻo. Dear God, grant us faith and the remembrance of Dr.King’s words that “faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

When life becomes challenging, grant us the remembrance that God is our refuge and that trust in God means accepting the things we cannot change and the willingness to change the things we can.

E Ke Akua e hō mai i ke aloha. Dear God, grant us love: the love for all beings, the plants, the animals and all of creation. Let us remember Dr. Kingsʻ words that “at the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.” And that “love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

E Ke Akua e hō mai, Dear God, grant us devotion, which is dedication. Dedication to the one God within and without, to love, justice and peace.  And let us remember Dr. Kingsʻ words that “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

E Ke Akua e hō mai i ka mana a me ka ikaika. Dear God, grant us divine power & strength.  The ability to say: “Yes I can.” Remind us to use our strength and power for the highest good of all humanity and all living beings on planet earth.

E Ke Akua e hō mai i ka maluhia. Dear God, grant us peace. As Dr. King taught us:  “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

Now please close your eyes and let us send aloha (love) and maluhia (peace) out to the world. Imagine white flower petals of love and peace falling from the sky and entering the crown of your head, filling you with love and peace. Now imagine these white petals falling like snow over all the earth, showering it with peace and love.

And now, as the ancient priests in the Temple of Jerusalem did so many centuries ago, let us send their ancient blessing out to the entire world:

“May God bless you and protect you.”

“May God cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.”

“May God turn his face to you and grant you the most precious gift of all – the gift of peace.”

Amen