MLK Opposed “Poverty, Racism & Militarism” in Speech One Year Before His Assassination 53 Years Ago

The video opens by introducing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated on April 4th, 1968, at the age of 39. While widely recognized as a civil rights leader, he was also a champion for economic justice through the Poor People's Campaign and a fierce critic of US foreign policy, particularly the Vietnam War. An excerpt from his "Beyond Vietnam" speech, given a year before his death, is highlighted.

Dr. King speaks as a child of God and a brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam, whose land, homes, and culture are being destroyed. He speaks for the poor of America, who pay a double price of dashed hopes at home and death in Vietnam. As a citizen of the world, he expresses dismay at the path taken by the US. He confronts the hypocrisy of advising nonviolence to angry youth in ghettos while the nation uses massive violence to solve its problems in Vietnam, recognizing that he cannot speak against the violence of the oppressed without first addressing the 'greatest purveyor of violence' – his own government.

Dr. King calls for recapturing a revolutionary spirit and declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. He advocates for a 'genuine revolution of values,' where loyalties become ecumenical rather than sectional, developing an overriding loyalty to humankind as a whole. This call for worldwide fellowship, extending beyond tribe, race, class, and nation, is a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all humanity.

King clarifies that the love he speaks of is not sentimental weakness but a unifying principle seen in all great religions – the key to ultimate reality. Citing the First Epistle of St. John, he emphasizes that 'God is love.' He warns against worshipping hate or bowing to retaliation, as history is filled with nations destroyed by this self-defeating path. He echoes Arnold Toynbee, stating that love is the ultimate force for choosing life over death, and hopes 'love is going to have the last word.'

Dr. King stresses the 'fierce urgency of now,' asserting that 'tomorrow is today.' He warns against procrastination, noting that 'there is such a thing as being too late,' and that lost opportunities haunt us. He declares that humanity still has a choice between 'nonviolent coexistence and violent co-annihilation.' He urges immediate action for peace in Vietnam and justice in the developing world, cautioning that inaction will lead to 'shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.'

King calls for rededicating ourselves to the 'long and bitter but beautiful struggle for a new world.' He questions whether we will tell those who await our response that the odds are too great or the struggle too hard. Instead, he hopes for a message of 'longing, of hope, of solidarity' and 'commitment to their cause, whatever the cost.' Citing James Russell Lowell, he emphasizes that 'once to every man in nation comes a moment to decide.' King concludes with the hope that making the right choice will transform cosmic energy into a 'creative Psalm of Peace,' jangling discords into a 'beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood,' and speed the day when 'Justice will roll down like Waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.'