We have corrupted their women and children and killed their men. [11], King's opposition cost him significant support among white allies, including President Johnson, Billy Graham,[citation needed] union leaders and powerful publishers. 0000044282 00000 n King spoke strongly against the U.S.'s role in the war, arguing that the U.S. was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony" and calling the U.S. government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. 159. 39 0 obj << /Linearized 1 /O 44 /H [ 1739 286 ] /L 149455 /E 105346 /N 8 /T 148557 >> endobj xref 39 54 0000000016 00000 n Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day. 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. King had read Marx while at Morehouse, but while he rejected "traditional capitalism", he also rejected communism because of its "materialistic interpretation of history" that denied religion, its "ethical relativism", and its "political totalitarianism. We appreciate that. 0000013309 00000 n He passed the Civil Rights Act. Now let us begin. America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. We must move past indecision to action. And there was a 18-year-old black Marine that picked me up since I couldn't walk, got me away from bombs and saved my life. This has driven many to feel that only Marxism has the revolutionary spirit. But most Americans, I think, do not know this speech, "Beyond Vietnam.". These are days which demand wise restraint and calm reasonableness. 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. But for those who presently choose but one, I would hope they will finally come to see the moral roots common to both. I'm Neal Conan. [26], The same year, King nominated Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize, but the prize was not awarded to anyone that year. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor both black and white through the poverty program. And I think most Americans know the "I Have A Dream" speech. And I believe everyone has a duty to be in both the civil-rights and peace movements. 0000008347 00000 n Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that peace and economic justice were critical to his fight for human rights. They must see Americans as strange liberators. This is the message of the great Buddhist leaders of Vietnam. CONAN: Tavis Smiley, author, journalist, political commentator, host of his talk show on PBS, joins us today from the Sheryl Flowers Studios in Los Angeles. Sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. "Vincent Harding dies at 82; historian wrote controversial King speech", "Vincent Harding, author of Martin Luther King Jr.'s antiwar speech, dies", "The Rev. Do you find this information helpful? Freedom's Ring: King's "I Have a Dream" Speech, Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, Martin Luther King, Jr. - Political and Social Views, Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam (CALCAV). At the time, civil rights leaders publicly condemned him for it. Martin built his speech that night, Neal, around three major points: around increasing militarism, around escalating poverty and around the issue of racism. 0000046786 00000 n Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Mr. SMILEY: And therein lies the rub. They see the children, degraded by our soldiers as they beg for food. Speeches, writings, movements, and protests, Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. 1967 speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. 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). But there was a great turnout for the speech. "[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. 0000013330 00000 n ) fuG {*pZ//e,QTx)%TuS%@^2j/?Nf7nx!]OvqJG=_oD3?VUMs+tM95X )G~1b'g])!`]:|OwHh-J6ZHg{Z9N3b!\#9"zhT\]sp2WtTal =YvkO8yu 6^,n,v$+u$|^1wUF}GGc=p!e#F\]xx6l~NTYSmc /ut^*WTPO Cp =-FQW.]y#F6NsQ2Qzqz=|v94+JC?w4,|yi4T0eIaaeD2-Y1 Vietnam War | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute Vietnam War Event May 11, 1961 to April 30, 1975 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. And he starts out in the opening line at Riverside Church by saying: I am here tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. If it is, let us trace its movement well and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us. Realistically accept the fact that the National Liberation Front has substantial support in South Vietnam and must thereby play a role in any meaningful negotiations and in any future Vietnam government. Some, like civil rights leader Ralph Bunche, the NAACP, and the editorial page writers of The Washington Post[3] and The New York Times[4] called the Riverside Church speech a mistake on King's part. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. In that address, he articulated his reasons for his opposition to the Southeast Asian conflict. To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I am speaking against the war. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of sonship and brotherhood, and because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned especially for his suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them. Communism will never be defeated by the use of atomic bombs or nuclear weapons. After he gives it, 168 major newspapers the next day denounce him. I have not urged a mechanical fusion of the civil rights and peace movements. "[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. The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: A time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam. WALT (Caller): Yes. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. Others, including James Bevel, King's partner and strategist in the Civil Rights Movement, called it King's most important speech. Martin Luther King, who was already beginning to lose some of his influence, nevertheless made a huge challenge to the establishment. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. 0000017817 00000 n Tomorrow, the latest installment with the political junkie. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. 5. 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. It includes a portion of his speech. For the peasants this new government meant real land reform, one of the most important needs in their lives. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. The situation is one in which we must be ready to turn sharply from our present ways. Peace and civil rights dont mix, they say. Then we must make what reparations we can for the damage we have done. Delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Manhattan's Riverside Church, April 4, 1967 . Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" was a powerful and angry speech that raged against the war. "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. The film is the second episode of Tavis Smiley Reports. Martin Luther King's Speech Against the Vietnam War by David Bromwich May 16, 2008 O ne of the greatest speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr., "A Time to Break Silence," was delivered at Riverside Church, New York City, on April 4, 1967. After the French were defeated it looked as if independence and land reform would come again through the Geneva agreements. The initiative to stop it must be ours. 0000009964 00000 n This need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counter-revolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. I guess the question now is whether or not Afghanistan is a war of necessity or a war of choice. Sorry, I'm a little bit emotional here. While they both may have justifiable reason to be suspicious of the good faith of the United States, life and history give eloquent testimony to the fact that conflicts are never resolved without trustful give and take on both sides. Though he avoided condemning the war outright, at the August 1965 annual Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) convention King called for a halt to bombing in North Vietnam, urged that the United Nations be empowered to mediate the conflict, and told the crowd that what is required is a small first step that may establish a new spirit of mutual confidence a step capable of breaking the cycle of mistrust, violence and war (King, 12 August 1965). Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist that led the Civil Rights Movement, and other movements until his assassination in 1968. "[9] He stated that North Vietnam "did not begin to send in any large number of supplies or men until American forces had arrived in the tens of thousands", and accused the U.S. of having killed a million Vietnamese, "mostly children. As if the weight of such a commitment to the life and health of America were not enough, another burden of responsibility was placed upon me in 1964; and I cannot forget that the Nobel Prize for Peace was also a commission a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for the brotherhood of man. This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. In the 1950s and 1960s, his words led the Civil Rights Movement and helped change society. BRC-NEWS: Black Radical Congress International News/Alerts/Announcements , Martin Luther King, Jr., delivering speech. So they go primarily women and children and the aged. There are people who have come to see the moral imperative of equality, but who cannot yet see the moral imperative of world brotherhood. ml.K-x1x*tcSO p[ endstream endobj 62 0 obj 720 endobj 63 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 62 0 R >> stream There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I, and others, have been waging in America. Fifty-years ago in April 1967, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered one of his most memorable, if not controversial sermons, at Riverside Church just steps away from the Columbia University campus. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor. Martin Luther King Jr. held his acceptance speech in the auditorium of the University of Oslo on 10 December 1964. This is Howard, which you know me. These too are our brothers. So, too, with Hanoi. Seeking to reduce the potential backlash by framing his speech within the context of religious objection to war, King addressed a crowd of 3,000 people at Riverside Church in New York City. Carson and Shepard, 2001. Undeterred, King, Spock, and Harry Belafonte led 10,000 demonstrators on an anti-war march to the United Nations on 15 April 1967. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. A call for equality and freedom, it became one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American history. And number two, at what cost? A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. Therefore, communism is a judgment against our failure to make democracy real and follow through on the revolutions we initiated. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today my own government. The New York Times editorial suggested that conflating the civil rights movement with the Anti-war movement was an oversimplification that did justice to neither, stating that "linking these hard, complex problems will lead not to solutions but to deeper confusion." 0000006536 00000 n P: (650) 723-2092 | F: (650) 723-2093 | kinginstitute@stanford.edu| Campus Map. We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for they must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved. With that tragic decision we rejected a revolutionary government seeking self-determination, and a government that had been established not by China (for whom the Vietnamese have no great love) but by clearly indigenous forces that included some Communists. King Leads Chicago Peace Rally, New York Times, 26 March 1967. But this is, again, precisely what King was concerned about, putting the lives of everyday Americans on the line in a fight that was not winnable and a war that was unjust. They move sadly and apathetically as we herd them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. King 's work to eradicate racial segregation was abruptly halted when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, on the balcony of Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. "[24] King quoted a United States official who said that from Vietnam to Latin America, the country was "on the wrong side of a world revolution. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. 0000023610 00000 n For those who ask the question, Arent you a civil rights leader? and thereby mean to exclude me from the movement for peace, I have this further answer. 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 . 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. There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I, and others, have been waging in America. Take immediate steps to prevent other battlegrounds in Southeast Asia by curtailing our military buildup in Thailand and our interference in Laos. It was a tactical mistake. James L. Bevel dies at 72; civil rights activist and top lieutenant to King", "Martin Luther King Jr. made our nation uncomfortable", "The Uncompromising Anti-Capitalism of Martin Luther King Jr", "Why Martin Luther King Didn't Run for President", "Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master and Political Reformer, Dies at 95", "The Story Of King's 'Beyond Vietnam' Speech", "Dragons, legos, and solitary: Ai Weiwei's transformative Alcatraz exhibition", Full transcript of the speech from Commondreams.org. As the head of state, I cannot necessarily embrace the same principles that, as you point out, Martin Luther King, a prophet, an outsider could embrace. The Vietnamese people proclaimed their own independence in 1945 after a combined French and Japanese occupation, and before the Communist revolution in China. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. King contemplated but ultimately decided against the proposal on the grounds that he felt uneasy with politics and considered himself better suited for his morally unambiguous role as an activist.[25]. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. Mr. SMILEY: Indeed, he did. Of course, he's assassinated in Memphis a year to the day later after giving this speech. Carson and Holloran, 1998. American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr: A Time to Break Silence (Declaration Against the Vietnam War) M artin L uther K ing, J r. Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City [Photo Credit: John C. Goodwin] [AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio.