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. 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 ). Martin Luther King Jr. held his acceptance speech in the auditorium of the University of Oslo on 10 December 1964. Fearful of being labeled a Communist, which would diminish the impact of his civil rights work, King tempered his criticism of U.S. policy in Vietnam through late 1965 and 1966. We most provide the medical aid that is badly needed, making it available in this country if necessary. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. The march was organized by the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and initiated by its chairman, James Bevel. Of course, he's assassinated in Memphis a year to the day later after giving this speech. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression and out of the wombs of a frail world new systems of justice and equality are being born. In the north, where our bombs now pummel the land, and our mines endanger the waterways, we are met by a deep but understandable mistrust. But I'm hoping that people will get a chance, once they see the speech, they'll be moved to go read the speech and to make comparisons, Neal. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Some civil rights leaders urged King not to speak out on the Vietnam War, but he said he could not separate issues of economic injustice, racism, war, and militarism. 0000043425 00000 n CONAN: And the place - choice of place is very interesting too. 0000002247 00000 n A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: Why are you speaking about war, Dr. King? I'm Neal Conan. They ask how we can speak of free elections when the Saigon press is censored and controlled by the military junta. In order to atone for our sins and errors in Vietnam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war. We must be prepared to match actions with words by seeking out every creative means of protest possible. The situation is one in which we must be ready to turn sharply from our present ways. 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. Legendary civil rights leader Rev. The cornerstones of his activism were based on non-violence and civil disobedience, both of which were inspired by his Christian faith and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. At what cost? Although the peace community lauded Kings willingness to take a public stand against the war in Vietnam, many within the civil rights movement further distanced themselves from his stance. I come to this platform tonight to make a passionate plea to my beloved nation. Opposes Vietnam War, New York Times, 11 November 1965. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Please c, ontact Intellectual Properties Management (IPM), the exclusive licensor of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. at. CONAN: We're talking with Tavis Smiley about his PBS special, "Tavis Smiley Reports MLK: A Call to Conscience." capitalism, and the Vietnam War. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for example, issued a statement against merging the civil rights and peace movements. So, too, with Hanoi. Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the one who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? We have destroyed their land and their crops. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. "[9], King opposed the Vietnam War because it took money and resources that could have been spent on social welfare at home. But when he turns the corner and then says, essentially, that Martin's philosophy wouldn't work in today's world, he goes on to say that Dr. King didn't know al-Qaida, as if to suggest that Martin didn't understand evil, that Martin didn't understand violence, that he himself had not been subjected to it. Dr. In the light of such tragic misunderstandings, I deem it of signal importance to try to state clearly, and I trust concisely, why I believe that the path from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church the church in Montgomery, Alabama, where I began my pastorate leads clearly to this sanctuary tonight. Mr. SMILEY: Neal, thank you for the opportunity. Mr. SMILEY: We - let me just tell you this. King linked his anti-war and civil rights work in speeches throughout the country, where he described the three problems he saw plaguing the nation: racism, poverty, and the war in Vietnam. Martin Luther King: Beyond Vietnam and Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, 90th Cong., 2d sess., Congressional Record 114 (9 April 1968): 93919397. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. He passed the Civil Rights Act. "[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. 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. A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. While King was personally opposed to the war, he was concerned that publicly criticizing U.S. foreign policy would damage his relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had been instrumental in passing civil rights legislation and who had declared in April 1965 that he was willing to negotiate a diplomatic end to the war in Vietnam. 0000005696 00000 n Of course, again, that philosophy, when the papers got a hold of him the next day, that strategy didn't work so well. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for being one of the greatest orators of the twentieth century, and perhaps in all of American history. Also it must be clear that the leaders of Hanoi considered the presence of American troops in support of the Diem regime to have been the initial military breach of the Geneva agreements concerning foreign troops, and they remind us that they did not begin to send in any large number of supplies or men until American forces had moved into the tens of thousands. 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. V)U5v\@apkk;#WF. Our government felt then that the Vietnamese people were not ready for independence, and we again fell victim to the deadly Western arrogance that has poisoned the international atmosphere for so long. [27], In 2010, PBS commentator Tavis Smiley said that the speech was the most controversial speech of King's career, and the one he "labored over the most". Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist that led the Civil Rights Movement, and other movements until his assassination in 1968. The peasants may well wonder if we plan to build our new Vietnam on such grounds as these? So even McNamara eventually comes around to that point. Appreciate it. Watch a newsfilm clip of the speech . Due to the Vietnam War is that plenty of individuals, both Americans and Vietnamese were killed. 0000044282 00000 n As that noble bard of yesterday, James Russell Lowell, eloquently stated: Once to every man and nation Comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth and falsehood, For the good or evil side; Some great cause, Gods new Messiah, Offring each the bloom or blight, And the choice goes by forever Twixt that darkness and that light. 0000002874 00000 n 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. Then came the buildup in Vietnam and I watched the program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. At the time, civil rights leaders publicly condemned him for it. Well, it was taken in that context, anyway. Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment. (AFP via Getty Images) "Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King? 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. Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. It was the speech he labored over the most. And so I think most Americans, Neal, know the "I Have A Dream" speech. For as popular as King was, he was a Nobel laureate, there were only one or two news crews who actually came to see the speech that night, Neal. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within ones own bosom and in the surrounding world. %PDF-1.3 % 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. 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. But they asked and rightly so what about Vietnam? And Tavis, nice to have you back in the program. My third reason moves to an even deeper level of awareness, for it grows out of my experience in the ghettoes of the North over the last three years especially the last three summers. 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. King to Weigh Civil Disobedience). BRC-NEWS: Black Radical Congress International News/Alerts/Announcements , Martin Luther King, Jr., delivering speech. Those pictures turned Dr. King's stomach. His speech appears below. Surely we must see that the men we supported pressed them to their violence. Mr. SMILEY: That's right. It was the speech he labored over the most. But LBJ disinvites him to the White House. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King at Ebenezer Church. "MLK: A Call to Conscience" premieres on PBS tomorrow night. Mr. SMILEY: Yeah, Walt, I thank you for sharing that story as well, for being courageous to tell it, number one. 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. Mr. SMILEY: Well, I think the question is whether or not - I hear your point, Neal, and I take it. But there was a great turnout for the speech. And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. 0000011437 00000 n Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter but beautifulstruggle for a new world. 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 question is, is it a war of necessity or a war of choice at this point? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech opposing the Vietnam War in April 1967. HT0WJ3 O$L 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." This Hindu-Moslem-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: Let us love one another; for love is God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He was stabbed at one time. Mr. SMILEY: Indeed, he did. In a way we were agreeing with Langston Hughes, that black bard of Harlem, who had written earlier: O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath America will be! Dr. 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." It will become clear that our minimal expectation is to occupy it as an American colony and men will not refrain from thinking that our maximum hope is to goad China into a war so that we may bomb her nuclear installations. I've always thought that was, to me, his best speech, his most consequential speech, even better than I have a dream in the mountain top speech. But the entire speech, of course, thankfully, was recorded on audio. While his legacy is commonly remembered by his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, we've sourced four powerful, lesser-known speeches from Dr. King to listen to and commemorate . We appreciate that. At this point I should make it clear that while I have tried in these last few minutes to give a voice to the voiceless on Vietnam and to understand the arguments of those who are called enemy, I am as deeply concerned about our troops there as anything else. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. Copyright 2010 NPR. No, Howard, I thank you for your phone call. And King gives a great speech out of that hospital called "If I Had Sneezed." Is our nation planning to build on political myth again and then shore it up with the power of new violence? Answering press questions after addressing a Howard University audience on 2 March 1965, King asserted that the war in Vietnam was accomplishing nothing and called for a negotiated settlement (Schuette, King Preaches on Non-Violence). "[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. Could we blame them for such thoughts? 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. That's the problem with it. They brought in extra chairs. ", After King delivered the speech, Smiley reports, "168 major newspapers the next day denounced him." CONAN: Howard, thanks very much for the call. 0000002784 00000 n 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. Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? 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. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West must support these revolutions. Arent you hurting the cause of your people, they ask? 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. A few years ago there was a shining moment. All Rights Reserved. Thanks, as always for your time. The True Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Free Press. Dr. King is trying to get the point across that our country is being unfair to others. So practically everybody was opposed to him giving this speech. 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. 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. But Martin understood very clearly that what we ought to be doing at home is being - we are being distracted, rather, by our engagement around the world. In this speech, he opposes violence and militarism, particularly the war in Vietnam. 159.