50 Years Ago, MLK Delivers A Speech With Dark Vision Of The World

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered one of his most politically charged speeches from Harlem's Riverside Church. In "Beyond Vietnam," he not only condemns the Vietnam War, but also compares American tactics to those of Nazis. His speech paints a dark vision of the world, a contrast to the optimistic speech he had delivered 4 years earlier, "I Have a Dream."

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Fifty years ago today, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Riverside Church in New York City. It was 1967. The U.S. was fighting a war in Vietnam. And Dr. King delivered a fierce attack against the U.S. government. It's often thought of as his most controversial speech. In it, he questioned what Vietnamese people must have made of the forces descending on their country.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: What do they think as we test out our latest weapons on them just as the Germans tested out new medicines and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe?

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

It was notably darker in tone than the "I Have A Dream" speech which was delivered four years earlier. He warned about an American military creep beyond Southeast Asia and forecasted a grim future.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KING JR.: The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit. And if we ignore this sobering reality...

(APPLAUSE)

KING JR.: And if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing clergy and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia. They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy.

(APPLAUSE)

SIEGEL: His anti-war stance had consequences. After this speech, 168 newspapers denounced King. President Lyndon Johnson rescinded an invitation to the White House.

MCEVERS: But in delivering this speech called "Beyond Vietnam," King cemented his legacy as an activist not only for American civil rights but for human rights around the world.

Copyright © 2017 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.