While riding a train during the height of the Cold War, Lloyd read an article in the Wall Street Journal about volumes of mail sent to the Kremlin by Americans. Curious as to why hundred’s of thousands of people were writing to the bastion of communism, Lloyd spent a year getting permission to view the letters. Lloyd believes that his training as a youth in the Soka Gakkai International prepared him to be able to obtain permission to publish a collection of the letters that represent a unique time in history when people throughout the world were inspired to engage in dialogue based on respect for life. In collaboration with the first Russian President, Dear Mr. Gorbachev was published in Great Britain, Japan, and Germany.
President Grobachev wrote in the book’s forward:
“The anchor which kept us moored to the past has been raised… We shall not abandon the new course…to build a truly democratic and humane society in which the universal criterion is the interest of the human being.” —July 4, 1990
Documents related to this activity (PDF)
When the City of Los Angeles formed its $10 million anti-gang campaign called L.A. Bridges, Lloyd was brought in to advise the city’s agencies in launching the program.
In 1989 Lloyd brought business leaders from the U.S. to this nuclear power facility in Russia in an effort to use the facilities to manufacture high-fidelity sound systems instead of implements of war.
The U.S. economic blockade of Cuba makes it difficult for musicians from the two countries to interact. In 2000, Chucho Valdes, President of the Havana Jazz Festival, dedicated the festival to the New Orleans musical roots well exemplified by Luis Armstrong. “Armstrong in Havana” is a moving testimony to the sense of joy and rhythm created when three U.S. jazz greats traveled to Cuba to participate. Lloyd obtained corporate support that became responsible for bringing the musicians from New Orleans to Havana under the doctrine of cultural exchange. Respect for life is paramount in this inspiring testimonial to the great potential of the human spirit beyond business and politics.
Lloyd first visited the former Soviet Union in 1987 as a team leader for thirty-five American youth participating in the First Youth Conference. This event was sponsored by the U.S. and Soviet governments and Youth Ambassadors of America as a milestone in the breaking of the ice that developed between these two superpowers as a result of the cold war. Youth Ambassador’s leadership was comprised mostly of American educators for the purpose of creating cultural exchanges with people in the former Soviet Union as a vehicle to establish trust. Gorbachev inspired social and economic programs, “perestroika” and “glasnost”, which allowed Youth Ambassadors to bring together youth from throughout the Soviet Union for the purpose of face to face dialog with American Youth.
At the opening ceremonies of the first U.S.-Russian Youth Conference, Russian youth performed an original welcome song at the nationally televised event. The song made a strong impression on many, and engendered in Lloyd a greater understanding of the power of diversity when hearts are willing to respect others for the good of humankind. The event inspired Lloyd to arrange the music with English and Russian lyrics, which was then recorded as a lasting testament to the power of diverse youth to create mutual respect and understanding based on the common good. With the help of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lloyd organized the youth and recorded Slice of Heaven in Moscow during the final years of the Cold War.
Lloyd Fischel has been an active leader in the SGI-USA for many years where he has contributed to the organization’s multi-faceted programs towards fostering education and culture. Lloyd has represented the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) on the advisory board for the National Conference for Communities and Justice (NCCCJ) in Santa Monica, CA for a number of years, and as a member of the Westside Interfaith Council in West Los Angeles.