Dr. Arun Gandhi, who carries on the nonviolence work of Mahatma Gandhi, his grandfather, will be here next week as part of “Gandhi Visits Chattanooga — A City Moving Toward a Season for Nonviolence.”
During his visit, he will be involved in a number of public and private events organized by the city’s Department of Education, Arts and Culture for its 2012 Connecting the Dots Summit with Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga and United Way of Greater Chattanooga.
The theme of the week, according to EAC administrator Missy Crutchfield, relates to the city making a commitment toward a vision of nonviolence. The “season” refers to the time between the anniversaries of the assassinations of Mahatma Gandhi (Jan. 30) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (April 4).
“Only a handful of cities have made this commitment” to a Gandhi-King Season of Nonviolence coalition, she said. “For us to declare it holds us to a higher accountability.”
After Gandhi’s visit, she said, the city will share with the public what happened at the Connecting the Dots Summit, list the further steps it will take and continue with events promoting the nonviolence theme.