Editor,
Prophet Martin Luther King Jr. damned the Vietnam War in his most controversial speech on April 4, 1967 – exactly one year before he was assassinated. King damned the U.S. mass murder of Vietnamese people. King said, “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.”
The New York Times, the Washington Post, many newspapers nationwide condemned his strong message of truth. Many Whites, many Blacks, the White House, even most of King’s inner circle of Black leaders condemned his strong message of truth. He suffered much hatred, many death threats.
Why is that speech far less known, far less honored, far less quoted than his “I Have A Dream” speech?
Sadly, most King celebrations today castrate his message. They do not emphasize his strong stand against nuclear weapons, against the Vietnam War, against the evils of capitalism and the U.S. Empire.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a prophet, not a politician, not a rock star! He refused to silence his conscience and to sell out his convictions to get the popular support of millions, and the approval of the powerful!
Don Schrader
Daily Lobo Reader
