ICCTA Gandhi/King Peace Essay Scholarship

2018 Recipient


Jor'Dan Crim
John A. Logan College


Greetings:

Imagine a world where social class, racial tension, and gender discrimination don't exist. Think of us living in a world where we all are treated like humans who are growing. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once observed, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."


John A. Logan College student Jor'Dan Crim accepts her $1,000 Gandhi/King Peace Essay Scholarshipfrom Oakton Community College trustee emeritus Jody Wadhwa.

John A. Logan College student Jor'Dan Crim accepts her $1,000 Gandhi/King Peace Essay Scholarship from Oakton Community College trustee emeritus Jody Wadhwa.

Two men, Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi, challenged the norms of society for the greater good of human kind within their own countries and began an upward movement so that all can live equally.

These two people were discriminated against simply because they looked and believed differently than their societies ideas of norms. They also believed we must rise above the problems of gender and racial discrimination, while applying these truths to their governments' laws and communities through non-violent resistance.

I learned to apply their basic principles in my own life and started a supportive group on Facebook called "One Life, One Love, All Freedom." This group is an alternative to the recent violence in my community. This is a forum opportunity for everyone to talk about their differences in a safe and productive way. I have the driving moral compass of knowing that if we allow ourselves to look beyond our own biases, we can improve our communities. As Gandhi stated, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

This is my guiding light as I get others on this journey.