Mahatma Gandhi's 150 birth anniversary: Memphis street named 'Gandhi Way'

150th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2nd October 1869 to 30 Jan 1948) and Father of the Nation (India), was celebrated on October 7th, 2019 at MEMPHIS, TN – “BRIGHTEN LIVES GALA” by The Indian Community Fund for Greater Memphis (ICFGM) giving testament to his core principles of community service and “be the change you seek”.

The Saturday event was packed to capacity and the kick off ceremony marked by recognizing the principals, importance and connection for Memphis with the civil rights movement. The visionary leader during the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King’s drew inspirations and many key learnings from M K Gandhi’s approach to non-violence, respect for an individual, and a strong focus and dedicated efforts on community service.

To commemorate Mahatma, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland along with the City Councilman Frank Colvett, gathered near the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) and joined them by Dr. Swati Kulkarni, Consul-General, Consulate of India – Atlanta, alongside ICFGM board members and many distinguished personalities from the local Indian-American community for the street naming ceremony.

Forth Butler street near NCRM will have the honorary “Gandhi Way” street sign which is a noble mark of a respect towards the great leader.

The fourth Annual ICFGM gala highlighted many significant contributions made by the MidSouth Indian -American community. Memphis to many of them has been a home away from home for the last 3 or 4 decades or even more.
The celebration gala featured the dignitaries - Consul-general and the special guest Raj Subramaniam, President and COO, FedEx Corp. Several other community leaders thronged the venue.

The highlight of the event was a key announcement by ICFGM of donating $150K to eight Memphis nonprofits in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s sesquicentennial. The beneficiaries list includes: Church Health Center / St Vincent/ St Mary / Manna House / Collierville Literacy Center / Community Legal Center / GPAC / MIFA.

These organizations with their significant community presence, deeply reflect the core values that also drives the mission and goals of ICFGM – to support community, empower youth, and promote philanthropy.

In a way the focus is more towards youth and kids with educational and empowerment initiatives, improving conditions for several homeless and under-privileged, food, insecurity, women’s empowerment to build stronger families and communities, and livable communities.

ICFGM chair Anupam Lahiri affirms that ICFGM continues to make a considerable impact on the Memphis community and rightly so with their focus to give every $ back to the community. 100% of donations to ICFGM are ploughed back into the Greater Memphis community. ICFGM would continue to make a large difference and significant impact in Memphis with better living in the years ahead as well.