Otis Moss

Otis Moss, of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King in the American Civil Rights movement spoke of just governance in a context of non-violence.

Before outlining the history of the Civil Rights Movement, which was in the final analysis a struggle for just governance in the modern world’s first democracy, Moss described the tragic flaws in the original American Declaration of Independence, authored largely by Thomas Jefferson, which preceeded the constitution.

Explaining that slaves, women, Native Americans were excluded from that first ringing declaration: ‘All men are created equal,’ Moss commented that it was deeply troubling to hear calls for a Supreme Court in his country that would uphold the spirit of the original constitutional document, which defined slaves as three fifths of a person.

The long, protracted struggle for human and civil rights was rooted in the imperfections of the original document, he said.

Even after three amendments to the Constitution at the end of the American Civil War in which 600,000 people were killed, it was still necessary to continue this struggle, he continued.

‘I’ve devoted my adult life to a movement that seeks a more just society, a movement anchored in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and in the prophets of the Old Testament and the Exodus led by Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who were guided by God.’

Acknowledging the contributions of other faith traditions and cultures to the American Civil Rights movement, he said: “No culture or religion holds the monopoly on truth.”

‘We come to Caux, inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, the Great Soul of India,’ he said, referring to Gandhi’s insistence on non-violence in his struggle for freedom and justice for his country.

Emphasising the inclusive nature of the civil rights movement, he said that it called into action tens of thousands of men and women of all generations and ages including children, gathering them together in a ‘coalition of conscience.’

‘Just governance must be intergenerational,’ he said. ‘A government can be measured by how it treats children, the poor, the aged and the most vulnerable in society,’ he contended.

He recalled that the greatest criticism of the Birmingham movement of 1963 (part of the civil rights movement) was that it included children in the Civil Rights March. One of the participants in the movement responded to the criticism with the question: ’Why shouldn’t it involve children when the movement is all about them?’

Moss said that finally the President and Congress of the USA responded and passed the Civil Rights Bill in 1964 and the Voting Rights Bill in 1965.

The struggle for just governance, however, was not yet over he said. During his last days, Martin Luther King devoted his life to combating militarism and racism and poverty and violence. Dr. King spoke out against such injustices as racism that kept millions in poverty, and policies which devoted vast resources to military action, or which neglected human need and a community of justice and love.

Otis Moss received a standing ovation for his inspiring message, which many in the audience remarked was a privilege to hear.

>> click here to listen to a podcast of a speech that Otis Moss held on 11 July in Caux.

>> click hear to watch a video interview with Otis Moss

>> click here for more information about the Caux Forum for Human Security and the International Caux Conferences 2010