"MLK: A Call to Conscience" premieres on PBS tomorrow night. His tireless work advocating for the end of. The peasants watched and cringed as Diem ruthlessly routed out all opposition, supported their extortionist landlords and refused even to discuss reunification with the north. The Riverside Church donated largely with Rockefeller money. Later that year King framed the issue of war in Vietnam as a moral issue: As a minister of the gospel, he said, I consider war an evil. So when the president suggests - and whether directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally diminishes in that Nobel speech Martin's powerful, nonviolent philosophy, it tweaked some people, and you'll see that in the presentation Wednesday night. 0000003503 00000 n King delivered a speech entitled Beyond Vietnam, pointing out that the war effort was taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem (King, Beyond Vietnam, 143). (Unintelligible) on this program about, you know, the chances he took and even, you know, speaking truth to power to LBJ helped him so much in civil rights. V)U5v\@apkk;#WF. trailer << /Size 93 /Info 36 0 R /Root 40 0 R /Prev 148547 /ID[<8f2b4dd6f2f061944c7ff807c44fcc1f><651247ae294a1a197a948cb3bc3f8412>] >> startxref 0 %%EOF 40 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Pages 38 0 R /Metadata 37 0 R /Threads 41 0 R /Names 43 0 R /OpenAction [ 44 0 R /XYZ null null null ] /PageMode /UseNone /PageLabels 35 0 R >> endobj 41 0 obj [ 42 0 R ] endobj 42 0 obj << /I << /Title (A)>> /F 45 0 R >> endobj 43 0 obj << /Dests 33 0 R >> endobj 91 0 obj << /S 76 /E 200 /L 216 /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 92 0 R >> stream CONAN: And one thing that I was unaware of was the timing of the speech in that he had wanted to say something along these lines. $25.00. Full text of speech. War is not the answer. "[14][15], The "Beyond Vietnam" speech reflected King's evolving political advocacy in his later years, which paralleled the teachings of the progressive Highlander Research and Education Center, with which he was affiliated. That night Dr. King shocked the world and his followers when . I guess the question now is whether or not Afghanistan is a war of necessity or a war of choice. America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. Though the cause of evil prosper, Yet tis truth alone is strong; Though her portion be the scaffold, And upon the throne be wrong: Yet that scaffold sways the future, And behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow Keeping watch above his own. No, Howard, I thank you for your phone call. Smiley continues, "it was the most controversial speech he ever gave. Opposes Vietnam War, New York Times, 11 November 1965. Soon we would be paying almost the full costs of this tragic attempt at recolonization. Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. "[9], King opposed the Vietnam War because it took money and resources that could have been spent on social welfare at home. He would no longer be respected. But most Americans, I think, do not know this speech, "Beyond Vietnam.". The initiative to stop it must be ours. This quote is from a sermon by Dr. King on April 30, 1967 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, drawing from his infamous April 4 sermon at Riverside Church. We must not engage in a negative anti-communism, but rather in a positive thrust for democracy, realizing that our greatest defense against communism is to take offensive action in behalf of justice. For nine years we vigorously supported the French in their abortive effort to recolonize Vietnam. King Scores Poverty). It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. Recently one of them wrote these words: Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. What do they think as we test our latest weapons on them, just as the Germans tested out new medicine and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe? Martin Luther King April 4, 1967 Riverside Church, New York City . Some 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington. After he gives it, 168 major newspapers the next day denounce him. 0000023610 00000 n Carson and Holloran, 1998. What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this one? Four years after President John F. Kennedy sent the first American troops into Vietnam, Martin Luther King, Jr., issued his first public statement on the war. or 404 526-8968. "[14] *];\n~~/iQ|h Q In "People and Peace, not Profits and War," Shirley Chisholm repeats the words "two more years" (42). Communism will never be defeated by the use of atomic bombs or nuclear weapons. Jazmyn Ford. 2. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor. On the evening of April 4, 1967, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King lent his full-throated oratory to a growing chorus of opposition to the rapidly expanding American role in the Vietnam War. Keep in mind now that 1967, Neal, as you know, is the same year that Muhammad Ali, the world champion, decides to not accept that draft to go and fight in Vietnam. Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist that led the Civil Rights Movement, and other movements until his assassination in 1968. This is the message of the great Buddhist leaders of Vietnam. At what cost? What do the peasants think as we ally ourselves with the landlords and as we refuse to put any action into our many words concerning land reform? They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. A few years ago there was a shining moment. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor both black and white through the poverty program. Beyond Vietnam2 in that . 0000002516 00000 n Kings opposition to the war provoked criticism from members of Congress, the press, and from his civil rights colleagues who argued that expanding his civil rights message to include foreign affairs would harm the black freedom struggle in America. A complete unit of instruction - include ALL answer documents - comparing and contrasting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X's early lives & speeches.This unit of study, which can be taught as a complete unit, or separated into 13 distinct activities . By the time King made the "Beyond Vietnam" speech, Smiley tells host Neal Conan, "he had fallen off already the list of most-admired Americans as tallied by Gallup every year." In his last Sunday sermon, delivered at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on 31 March 1968, King said that he was convinced that [Vietnam] is one of the most unjust wars that has ever been fought in the history of the world (King, Remaining Awake, 219). Martin Luther King Jr. held his acceptance speech in the auditorium of the University of Oslo on 10 December 1964. 0000013330 00000 n So Martin's advisors basically said, if you are intent on giving the speech, at least allow us to craft a speech and to create a setting that will allow you to speak to clergy members and laity so at least before you get to this rally that we know is going to be controversial, we could at least roll this thing out with a different kind of a crowd. Of course, the Nobel Peace Laureate, a man who clearly believed in nonviolence down to his very soul CONAN: but he'd wanted to give that speech two years earlier. Hundreds of folks listened outside on loudspeakers. Mr. SMILEY: Yeah, Walt, I thank you for sharing that story as well, for being courageous to tell it, number one. So King understood violence. 5. King Scores Poverty Budget, New York Times, 16 December 1966. And I can't tell young black men, who are being denied right here in the streets of America, that they should offer themselves up and to sign themselves up to go - to do harm to people around the world who they do not know. If Dr. King were to say to the organizers of these events, I'd like to show up at your church on Sunday morning, at your rally this weekend, and here's what I want to say, there is a good argument to be made that Dr. King himself might not be welcome - might not be allowed to say what was in his heart, what his conscience really was, given the political correctness of the world that we live in today. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition. Appreciate it. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. I must cry out when I see war escalated at any point (Opposes Vietnam War). On April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a controversial sermon opposing the Vietnam War at Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, then helped lead a large antiwar march from Central Park to the United Nations later that month. 0000011739 00000 n As we counsel young men concerning military service we must clarify for them our nations role in Vietnam and challenge them with the alternative of conscientious objection. These are the times for real choices and not false ones. Attachment 4: Are We Ready to Listen to Dr. King? Perhaps only his sense of humor and of irony can save him when he hears the most powerful nation of the world speaking of aggression as it drops thousands of bombs on a poor weak nation more than eight thousand miles away from its shores. His wife, Coretta Scott King, on the other hand, critiqued the war publicly for years before her husband did. Due to the Vietnam War is that plenty of individuals, both Americans and Vietnamese were killed. Less than two weeks after leading his first Vietnam demonstration, on 4 April 1967, King made his best known and most comprehensive statement against the war. CONAN: And I think a lot of people will see your parallels regarding Iraq, where, indeed, the United States was the aggressor in that conflict. We have destroyed their land and their crops. We most provide the medical aid that is badly needed, making it available in this country if necessary. In order to atone for our sins and errors in Vietnam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war. On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech in New York City at Riverside Church on the occasion of his becoming co-chairperson of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam (subsequently renamed Clergy and Laity Concerned ). On April 15, 1967, King participated and spoke at an anti-war march from Manhattan's Central Park to the United Nations. 4. And secondly, so many civil rights leaders were opposed to him giving it because LBJ had been the best president to black people on civil rights. Mr. SMILEY: And therein lies the rub. He summed up this aspect by saying, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. But instead there came the United States, determined that Ho should not unify the temporarily divided nation, and the peasants watched again as we supported one of the most vicious modern dictators our chosen man, Premier Diem. And Walt's with us from Cortez in Colorado. CONAN: Oh, the audio is terrible, though. That's the problem with it. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King at Ebenezer Church. But there was a great turnout for the speech. The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on We still have a choice today; nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. When the Rev. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. Their questions are frighteningly relevant. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King led his first anti-war march in Chicago on 25 March 1967, and reinforced the connection between war abroad and injustice at home: The bombs in Vietnam explode at homethey destroy the dream and possibility for a decent America (Dr. "[24] King condemned America's "alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America", and said that the U.S. should support "the shirtless and barefoot people" in the Third World rather than suppressing their attempts at revolution. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam immediately the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horribly clumsy and deadly game we have decided to play. "This was a huge, huge speech," he continues, "that got Martin King in more trouble than anything he had ever seen or done. Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence . 0000001427 00000 n These too are our brothers. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. There is nothing to keep us from molding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood. Mr. SMILEY: Yeah. In that address, he articulated his reasons for his opposition to the Southeast Asian conflict. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. And Tavis, nice to have you back in the program. Mr. SMILEY: That's right. Hanoi remembers how our leaders refused to tell us the truth about the earlier North Vietnamese overtures for peace, how the president claimed that none existed when they had clearly been made. We must with positive action seek to remove those conditions of poverty, insecurity and injustice which are the fertile soil in which the seed of communism grows and develops. Of course, he's assassinated in Memphis a year to the day later after giving this speech. If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. So practically everybody was opposed to him giving this speech. Surely we must see that the men we supported pressed them to their violence. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" was a powerful and angry speech that raged against the war. He knows the bombing and shelling and mining we are doing are part of traditional pre-invasion strategy. On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a speech named, "Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence" addressing the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, 10 December 1964 Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: The march was organized by the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and initiated by its chairman, James Bevel. (1947) Moranda Smith Addresses The Congress Of Industrial Organizations Annual Convention, Boston, (1974) Congresswoman Barbara Jordans Statement: The Richard Nixon Impeachment Hearings, African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/058.html, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. So even McNamara eventually comes around to that point. They question our political goals and they deny the reality of a peace settlement from which they will be excluded. When Diem was overthrown they may have been happy, but the long line of military dictatorships seemed to offer no real changeespecially in terms of their need for land and peace. The speech primarily concerns the Memphis sanitation strike.King calls for unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live . And that's the issue that King was raising. He was stabbed at one time. His speech appears below. We have corrupted their women and children and killed their men. And after I was wounded, we had four or five 100-pound bomb dropped on us, and 10 Marines were killed outright and 24 were wounded. "[23], King also stated in "Beyond Vietnam" that "true compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. If Americas soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read Vietnam. This call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond ones tribe, race, class and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men. And so he does in New York City. Now there is little left to build onsave bitterness. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their governments policy, especially in time of war. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land. Nearly five years after Kings assassination, American troops withdrew from Vietnam and a peace treaty declared South and North Vietnam independent of each other. Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word.. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War "The greatest irony and tragedy of all is that our nation, which initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world, is now cast in the. Because, to your point now, one, I want people to go online and read the speech so you can see the text for yourself. Undeterred, King, Spock, and Harry Belafonte led 10,000 demonstrators on an anti-war march to the United Nations on 15 April 1967. "I've Been to the Mountaintop" is the popular name of the last speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. King spoke on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee. Five years ago he said, Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.. 0000008347 00000 n Martin Luther King: Beyond Vietnam and Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, 90th Cong., 2d sess., Congressional Record 114 (9 April 1968): 93919397. I just wanted to say that I was an 18-year-old Marine in Vietnam when the speech was given, and I didn't hear it until three or four years ago. You can also join the conversation at our Web site. ", After King delivered the speech, Smiley reports, "168 major newspapers the next day denounced him." The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality we will find ourselves organizing clergy- and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. Before long they must know that their government has sent them into a struggle among Vietnamese, and the more sophisticated surely realize that we are on the side of the wealthy and the secure while we create hell for the poor.