A Summary of Reverend Sun Myung Moon's the Day of Hope 1974 Tour

The second city of the Day of Hope tour, Philadelphia, followed head over heels the Madison Square Garden campaign of September 18. News of the campaign in New York was picked up by the Philadelphia papers, which distorted Reverend Moon’s speech to make it appear to be an anti-Semitic diatribe. Vicious and persistent press attacks continued throughout the campaign, led by the Jewish Defense League, whose president later apologized for the unfounded accusations. Nevertheless, 660 guests attended the banquet, including five mayors and 2,713 the September 27 speech at the Academy of Music.

Washington, D.C.

The third city, Washington, D. C., welcomed Reverend Moon twice last fall-the first time on October 8 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. There between 25 and 30 Congressmen and about 75 aides assembled for Reverend Moon’s speech on “America in God’s Providence.” Cong. Bill Chappell, Jr., from Florida, introduced him saying, “If we could just convert the whole Congress, we’d be in really good shape!”

Reverend Moon called for Americans to return to the founding spirit of faith in God and affirmed that America has the mission of bringing all nations into oneness with God. He noted that America and Korea are the axis of the providence of God. The godly way of life, Reverend Moon explained, is selfless giving, on the individual level and national level as well.

In Washington, the first “War on Pornography” demonstrations began, with 300 young people carrying picket signs and singing spiritual songs along the 14th Street adult bookstore and theatre district. One frightened shop owner threatened Unification Church president Neil Salonen with a stick. The scene was broadcast on television.

A weekly tabloid called the Ginseng Sun, edited by former Way of the World editor Hal McKenzie, appeared for about two months during and shortly after the campaign. Distributed free, it featured spiritual groups in Washington.

The Day of Hope dinner at the Washington Hilton was attended by 2,302 national and community leaders. A monumental traffic tie-up and an unpleasant rain prevented many others from coming. A mobile hanging from the ceiling of the International Ballroom announced “Hope” in twelve languages. The invitation list ·tor the banquet was computerized and used for registering the guests. After Reverend Moon’s speech, seeress Jeane Dixon spoke briefly.

The speech on October 16 at Constitution Hall was attended by 4,011 persons and interrupted with outbursts by the militant Youth Against War and Fascism. A local radio station broadcasted a threat against Reverend Moon’s life. As in New York, Reverend Moon invited any protesters to speak out at the beginning of his speech. Then he sang a Korean song and delivered a two-hour speech.

The Atlanta campaign was marked with many spiritual experiences among Unification Church members; team members met people on the streets who had seen Reverend Moon in their dreams or had received some premonition of a deep and crucial meeting with some unknown person.

The Korean Folk Ballet since the New York campaign had been giving free performances in parks, schools, and civic centers. In Atlanta, they gave a televised performance outside the office of Governor Jimmy Carter. Media coverage in Atlanta was generally fair co positive, more so than in Washington or Philadelphia. At the banquet, proclamations from nine mayors of surrounding cities were presented.

The 850 guests were appreciative, as were the 3,404 people who attended the speech on October 30 at the Civic Center. In Atlanta, there were no interruptions during either the banquet or the speech.

Few people in Chicago had heard of Reverend Moon before the campaign began, so the team was unsure how large the response would be. However, the people really opened their hearts to the IOWC team and to Reverend Moon. The banquet was attended by 1,340 guests, filling the Palmer House Grand Ballroom to capacity. “If an earthquake came to Chicago tomorrow,” one guest said, “It would have to compete with Reverend Moon’s impact on this city.”

The speech at the Arie Crown Theatre in the McCormick Place Exhibition Center was filled over its 4,200-seat capacity on November 12, bringing the total attendance to 4,704. Rain early in the day, turning to snow, and demonstrators passing out seventeen different kinds of literature did not turn the crowds back. “Whether you are black, white, or yellow, I want you to know God is colorblind,” Reverend Moon said to the responsive audience. “He will only see one race of Adam, perfected Adam.”

After this fifth city, the national headquarters staff baked a cake for Reverend Moon in the shape of a hand with five fingers, representing what he termed the successful completion of the first five cities of the fall tour.

The third campaign in Seattle in less than a year, the fall Day of Hope campaign faced obstacles of a bus strike (most of the advertising was planned for use on buses), a week of heavy rains, a Thanksgiving evening program, and a combination of radical and fundamentalist opposition. Still, about 931 guests came to the banquet and 2,518 to the speech.

The Korean Folk Ballet had their first opportunity to perform at a sports event. A live audience of 14,000 and many more on television watched their half-time fan dance at the Seattle Supersonics basketball game.

At the banquet in the Olympic Hotel, Herbert Barnes, chairman of the National Blackfeet Indian Association, presented Reverend Moon with honorary membership in the Association. “God has given me this privilege through Reverend Moon,” he said, “to come to you like the first day that the white man came, saying, ‘Listen, we’re friends!’ Let’s reawaken this brotherhood.”

On Thanksgiving night, November 28, the Opera House opened its doors to the Day of Hope. Bomb threats and very obnoxious demonstrators weighted the atmosphere.

San Francisco

A second auditorium had to be rented to accommodate the more than 5,000 people who came to the December 9 speech at the historic Opera House. The general inclination of the people of the Bay Area towards spiritual pursuits has made this one of the most successful areas for Day of Hope campaigns in the past three years. People lined up to receive free tickets from girls in sidewalk booths. The anti- pornography rally came as a shock to the well-entrenched smut shop owners, and broke through the spiritual atmosphere of the city to make the team’s work more successful.

The Fairmont Hotel and its owner, Mr. Benjamin Swig, welcomed Reverend Moon and the Day of Hope dinner on December 7. “I think we should all get behind Reverend Moon and do everything we can to

support him,” Mr. Swig told the 1,310 guests.

About a dozen nearby cities issued proclamations and Governor Reagan wrote a welcoming letter to Reverend Moon. The city of Oakland proclaimed December 9 as Sun Myung Moon Day.

The San Francisco Opera House, scene of the drafting of the U. N. charter, held an audience of 3,901 for the Day of Hope program. At the end of his speech, an oriental girl presented Reverend Moon with a bouquet of roses, “on behalf of the young people of San Francisco.”

Preparations for the upcoming visit to Japan occupied part of the time of the IOWC team as well as the eighth and final Day of Hope campaign in 1974. Nevertheless, the team felt spiritual assistance and an air of harmony and confidence.

The anti-pornography rally drew six television stations, one radio station, and the L.A. Times, prompting the shop owners to protest outside the speech.

On a television show for large prize money, the following questions were asked, “Who is the most well- known evangelist today?” and “Who brought Christianity to America in 1970?” The answer was, “Reverend Sun Myung Moon.”

The Conrad Hilton banquet drew 1,700 guests. Twenty-eight area cities honored Reverend Moon with proclamations. The New Hope Singers presented seasonal music, including the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s The Messiah. A chamber orchestra accompanied the singers. On closed-circuit television, the overflow guests watched the program.

Many positive reports were heard from the banquet guests, as well as the audience at the speech on December 23. The Shubert Theater could not hold all the 2,500 people who came, so an overflow hall across the street seated an additional 400.

A statistical analysis of attendance at the fall Day of Hope programs by mobile staff member Tony DiMarco shows an average attendance at the Day of Hope speeches after Madison Square Garden to be 3,021, with Chicago drawing the largest indoor crowd and San Francisco the largest indoor crowd plus overflow.

A grand total of 47,499 attended the Day of Hope speeches during the eight-city tour. It has been noted chat a large number left during the program, the average throughout the tour being 46 percent. According to Mr. DiMarco, common reasons for leaving early included the lace hour and difficulty in understanding the speech through the interpreter.

The evening before each speech, a Day of Hope dinner was held for local dignitaries. The largest such banquet was held in Washington, D. C., with 2,302 in attendance. Total attendance for the eight cities was 10,394, averaging 1,299 per city. In contrast to the speeches, an average of ten percent left before the end of Reverend Moon’s after-dinner speech.

Polls were taken of a sampling of the audience at the beginning of each speech. The results show that 69 percent had heard of Reverend Moon for the first time during the current campaign.

Twenty-one percent said they came because they met a Unification Church member. Television advertising and the recommendation of a friend were a close second and third reason. The two largest age groups were 20-25 and over 40. Mr. DiMarco noted the good distribution of young and old in audiences throughout the tour.

When questioned about their reasons for coming, well over half said to find out about Reverend Moon or hear his message. The two other main reasons given were about equal-cultural enrichment or Christian fellowship and rebirth.