The Bridge of Reconciliation

Profile picture of the author, WFWP Vice President, Rev. Dr. Juanita Pierre-Louis.

Editor’s Note: In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. on January 17, 2022, we bring you this article from a moving and impactful Bridge of Peace Ceremony which took place in 2012 at the historic Freedom Hall in Atlanta, Georgia. We encourage you to take this time to reflect on Dr. King's life and legacy of reconciliation and peacebuilding and let this inspire us to make steps toward healing historical divides as the women did on that day in 2012.

It was a beautiful day in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 1, 2012, the Women Federation for World Peace chapter in GA prepared for a bridge crossing ceremony, centering on WFWP USA’s motto: “Living by the logic of love.” The Bridge of Peace Ceremony has been WFWP International’s flagship project since 1995, bringing together  and reconciling hundreds and thousands of women representing enemy nations, races, members in a family or generations, who were at odds with each other.

However, this particular Bridge of Peace event was special and exciting to me personally as it was scheduled to take place at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic Freedom Hall.  

Dr. King once said that “history is ultimately guided by spirit, not by matter.”   His words were ringing out to me on that beautiful autumn day.  We could feel his spirit of non-violence and “strength to love” spirit  guiding us that day right there in his hometown of Atlanta where we were about to have a bridge crossing and reconciliation ceremony between Black women and White women.

Pictured above is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic Freedom Hall.
photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/8999258677

Rev. Moon has said that this is the Era of Women. 

I also always knew in my heart that although we have sisters of many colors here in the United States, a major key to America’s liberation and healing lies in the relationship between Blacks and Whites. And I also believe that women carry the “soul force”, that Dr. King referred to in a lot of his speeches.

As we gathered once again on that September 1, to make history, there was a certain calm that came over the building.  Our sisters lined up on both sides of the bridge, the black women on one side and the white women on the other, all with a heart of genuine repentance and forgiveness.

Each woman once stepping onto the bridge and going to the center paused, and bowed to one another shedding tears of utmost sincerity, from one mother’s heart to another, and then embraced with love, a gesture that would symbolize a turning point for the South and an effort, God could receive and bless.  

When I stepped on the bridge and saw my white sister coming toward me from the other side, we both stopped in the center and we each repented to God, for the pain we have caused God and each other as God’s children.  Then my white sister looked at me, and in tears deeply repented to my ancestors for the inhumanity of slavery her white ancestors had forced upon us as humans.  That was a moment of crescendo and liberation for us all.  It was a powerful moment, the energy we felt, brought God’s frequency of love and the vibration of forgiveness. 

As those Black mothers and White mothers came together on the bridge that day, I felt that they were guided by the spirit of God, blessed by Rev. and Mother Moon, and with Dr. King and Coretta’s approval.

This event occurred in the presence of many civil rights activists who had marched with Dr. King who were moved and felt all their efforts for liberation were not in vain. I can also see, as someone who is teaching about health, that such an experience can be healing and de-stressing not only for individuals but for our nation as a whole!

This act of crossing the bridge also shows that we are building bridges and can serve as an encouragement to the next generation of young women (and men) both black and white to do the same. 

Rev. Dr. Juanita Pierre-Louis participating in a Bridge of Peace event.

I am so grateful that the Women Federation, founded by Dr. Hak Jak Han and Rev. Sun Myung Moon encourages women of all colors, and faiths to become peace leaders, and leaders of reconciliation, whether it be in the home, office, or government. They inspire us to be vigilant and morally strong in leading with heart and living by that logic of love that embraces the enemy.

We must thank our founders once again for such a powerful day, a day of Divine Design and a fulfillment of a purpose for life.