martin luther king jr vietnam war speech transcript

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Excuse me. Mr. TAVIS SMILEY (Host, "The Tavis Smiley Show"): Neal, always an honor to be on with you. 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. "MLK: A Call to Conscience" premieres on PBS tomorrow night. 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. 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. We appreciate that. Nevertheless, I am in a different position as the president of the United States. At what cost? The major speech at Riverside Church in New York City, followed several interviews[2] and several other public speeches in which King came out against the Vietnam War and the policies that created it. In this speech, he opposes violence and militarism, particularly the war in Vietnam. Jazmyn Ford. I must cry out when I see war escalated at any point (Opposes Vietnam War). Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word.. King Scores Poverty Budget, New York Times, 16 December 1966. 0000001427 00000 n For nine years following 1945 we denied the people of Vietnam the right of independence. What must they be thinking when they know that we are aware of their control of major sections of Vietnam and yet we appear ready to allow national elections in which this highly organized political parallel government will have no part? 800-989-8255, email us talk@npr.org. He would no longer be respected. Surely we must see that our own computerized plans of destruction simply dwarf their greatest acts. Exactly one year before his assassination, on April 4, 1967, Rev. Then we must make what reparations we can for the damage we have done. . It is not addressed to China or to Russia. Since I am a preacher by trade, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. 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. What liberators? With this powerful commitment we shall boldly challenge the status quo and unjust mores and thereby speed the day when every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain.. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. When the Rev. 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. 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). When he saw those pictures, there's a very famous picture, Neal, that we all know of a Vietnamese girl running naked in the streets who had just been, you know, had been victimized as had her village by these napalm attacks. [citation needed], One of the eight "sound cells" in @Large, Ai Weiwei's 201415 exhibit at Alcatraz, features King's voice giving the "Beyond Vietnam" speech. 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. 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. 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. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. CONAN: Howard, thanks very much for the call. 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). "[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. (AFP via Getty Images) "Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King? Attachment 4: Are We Ready to Listen to Dr. King? Read The Full Text And Listen To Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" Speech. 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). JwNt YHiA:{p . 0000001616 00000 n During the last year of his life, King worked with Spock to develop Vietnam Summer, a volunteer project to increase grassroots peace activism in time for the 1968 elections. If we do not act we shall surely be dragged down the long dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight. We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. In that address, he articulated his reasons for his opposition to the Southeast Asian conflict. There is nothing to keep us from molding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood. Dr. Benjamin Spock (2nd-L), Martin Luther King, Jr. (C), Father Frederick Reed and Cleveland Robinson lead a huge pacifist rally protesting U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war, Mar. 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. 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. This is an excellent Common Core-aligned primary source from Martin Luther King speaking about his stance on the Vietnam War. [28], A portion of this speech is used in the track "Wisdom, Justice, and Love" by Linkin Park, from their 2010 album A Thousand Suns. A few years ago there was a shining moment. It was a wonderful, I think, place to give the speech in the sense that it's pretty cavernous. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. CONAN: Indeed, it was Oslo. The film is the second episode of Tavis Smiley Reports. 0000003199 00000 n So, that's all I had to say. Because he received a letter from a little white girl who said, Dr. King, I read the newspaper that had you sneezed that blade would've moved, ruptured your aorta and you would've drowned in your own blood. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? And about a month after that speech was given, I was wounded. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is.a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I and others have been waging in America. Full text of speech. Instead, we decided to support France in its reconquest of her former colony. And it was on that occasion that he - when he saw those pictures, said, I have to speak out about this. Communism will never be defeated by the use of atomic bombs or nuclear weapons. And thank you for sharing what had to be a difficult story to tell. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. This kind of positive revolution of values is our best defense against communism. 0000003503 00000 n Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Therefore, communism is a judgment against our failure to make democracy real and follow through on the revolutions we initiated. "[9], King opposed the Vietnam War because it took money and resources that could have been spent on social welfare at home. To speak for them is to explain this lack of confidence in Western words, and especially their distrust of American intentions now. 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. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. Five years ago he said, Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.. The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on We still have a choice today; nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. And King had preached at this church any number of times before, of course. [19][20], In a 1952 letter to Coretta Scott, he said: "I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic"[21] In one speech, he stated that "something is wrong with capitalism" and claimed, "There must be a better distribution of wealth, and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism. Fifty years ago in 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr.. The Riverside Church donated largely with Rockefeller money. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. "[8] He connected the war with economic injustice, arguing that the country needed serious moral change: A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. 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. I am pleased to say that this is the path now being chosen by more than seventy students at my own alma mater, Morehouse College, and I recommend it to all who find the American course in Vietnam a dishonorable and unjust one. 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. 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. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. 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. Those pictures turned Dr. King's stomach. It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. It was written by activist and historian Vincent Harding. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. 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. . That's what I feel. Shall we say the odds are too great? 0000011437 00000 n 0000004834 00000 n 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. 5. %PDF-1.3 % 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. What do they think of our condoning the violence which led to their own taking up of arms? Copyright 2010 NPR. Surely we must see that the men we supported pressed them to their violence. Life magazine called the speech "demagogic slander that sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi",[9] and The Washington Post declared that King had "diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people. But LBJ disinvites him to the White House. [27] Thich Nhat Hanh, who publicly held a news conference in Chicago with King in 1966, was acknowledged for urging King to oppose the Vietnam War. Procrastination is still the thief of time. We have destroyed their land and their crops. 0000005696 00000 n Thanks, as always for your time. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population. A Comparative Study of Martin Luther King Jr & Malcolm X. by. We have cooperated in the crushing of the nations only non-Communist revolutionary political force the unified Buddhist church. W. E. B. 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. Mr. SMILEY: That's right. Martin Luther King April 4, 1967 Riverside Church, New York City . 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. The speech and its echoes for Afghanistan and Iraq are the subject of "Tavis Smiley Reports MLK: A Call to Conscience.". I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. 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. King, Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, in A Knock at Midnight, ed. Beyond Vietnam: The MLK speech that caused an uproar. CONAN: Oh, the audio is terrible, though. So we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would never live on the same block in Detroit. [12] This is Howard, which you know me. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men for Communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for black and for white, for revolutionary and conservative? 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. He rarely gave speeches from a text. 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. In so many words, powerful interests told him: "Mind your own business.". This is the calling of the sons of God, and our brothers wait eagerly for our response. Mr. SMILEY: He'd wanted to give it two years earlier and had attempted a dry run at this speech, to your appoint, Neal, a couple of years prior to when he gave it. The message directly challenged the president who'd taken great political risks to support civil rights legislation and also challenged many of his colleagues in the movement who've called it a tactical mistake. Arent you hurting the cause of your people, they ask? Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply troubled by the Vietnam War for years, but the "Beyond Vietnam" speech was his first major policy statement on the issue. Smiley spoke with both scholars and friends of King, including Cornel West, Vincent Harding and Susannah Heschel. Hb```f``; 6Pco;{Q. X@ h(]1fbap d``al`zds1;/(d_f)"#EC+s3Vp{4P2Vb`uL@ ` endstream endobj 92 0 obj 167 endobj 44 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 38 0 R /Resources 53 0 R /Contents [ 61 0 R 63 0 R 67 0 R 69 0 R 71 0 R 77 0 R 79 0 R 89 0 R ] /CropBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /B [ 45 0 R ] /MediaBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /Rotate 0 >> endobj 45 0 obj << /T 42 0 R /P 44 0 R /R [ 45 45 567 747 ] /V 46 0 R /N 47 0 R >> endobj 46 0 obj <> endobj 47 0 obj <> endobj 48 0 obj <> endobj 49 0 obj <> endobj 50 0 obj <> endobj 51 0 obj <> endobj 52 0 obj <> endobj 53 0 obj << /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageC /ImageI ] /Font << /F1 58 0 R /F2 65 0 R /F3 73 0 R /F4 74 0 R /TT2 54 0 R >> /XObject << /Im1 90 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 81 0 R >> /ColorSpace << /Cs6 55 0 R /Cs8 56 0 R >> >> endobj 54 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /FirstChar 49 /LastChar 56 /Widths [ 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /CAPGPE+TimesNewRoman /FontDescriptor 59 0 R >> endobj 55 0 obj [ /ICCBased 86 0 R ] endobj 56 0 obj [ /Indexed 55 0 R 255 87 0 R ] endobj 57 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 733 /CapHeight 692 /Descent -281 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -166 -283 1021 927 ] /FontName /CAPHEN+Palatino-Roman /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 84 /XHeight 469 /StemH 84 /CharSet (/I/space/c/o/m/e/t/h/i/s/a/g/n/f/u/w/r/p/b/y/l/v/period/j/d/k/z/colon/C/\ L/V/T/x/quotedbl/A/E/comma/quoteright/N/M/semicolon/S/W/P/O/q/D/B/emdash\ /H/F/R/U/G/one/nine/five/seven/six/four/J/question/hyphen/parenleft/pare\ nright/two/three/K) /FontFile3 84 0 R >> endobj 58 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 151 /Widths [ 250 278 371 500 500 840 778 208 333 333 389 606 250 333 250 606 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 250 250 606 606 606 444 747 778 611 709 774 611 556 763 832 337 333 726 611 946 831 786 604 786 668 525 613 778 722 1000 667 667 667 333 606 333 606 500 333 500 553 444 611 479 333 556 582 291 234 556 291 883 582 546 601 560 395 424 326 603 565 834 516 556 500 333 606 333 606 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 278 0 0 0 0 1000 ] /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /BaseFont /CAPHEN+Palatino-Roman /FontDescriptor 57 0 R >> endobj 59 0 obj << /Type /FontDescriptor /Ascent 891 /CapHeight 0 /Descent -216 /Flags 34 /FontBBox [ -568 -307 2028 1007 ] /FontName /CAPGPE+TimesNewRoman /ItalicAngle 0 /StemV 0 /FontFile2 85 0 R >> endobj 60 0 obj 763 endobj 61 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 60 0 R >> stream 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. Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the one who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? 0000002694 00000 n 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. ", In 1967, a year to the day before his death, Martin Luther King, Jr. departed from his message of civil rights to deliver a speech that denounced America's war in Vietnam. Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? 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. capitalism, and the Vietnam War. 0000004621 00000 n Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that peace and economic justice were critical to his fight for human rights. 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. 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: True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. 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. End all bombing in North and South Vietnam. The peasants watched as all this was presided over by U.S. influence and then by increasing numbers of U.S. troops who came to help quell the insurgency that Diems methods had aroused. And that is precisely what concerned Dr. King so much, that these young boys were being sent halfway around the world to fight a war that was unwinnable, that resources were being used there that should've been used here at home. Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence when it helps us to see the enemys point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. I would like to see the fervor of the civil-rights movement imbued into the peace movement to instill it with greater strength. 0000012562 00000 n It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor both black and white through the poverty program. On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a speech named, "Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence" addressing the Vietnam War. 0000006515 00000 n The great initiative in this war is ours. V)U5v\@apkk;#WF. Robert B. Semple, Jr., Dr. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 0000002516 00000 n 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.