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The Essential Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Beyond Vietnam
Part 3 of 3: The Essential Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam,” part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. At New York City's Riverside Church in 1967, Dr. King stood in front of a rapt audience and criticized the Vietnam War as a destructive act of force and a cruel manipulation of the poor—for those fighting on either side. He urged Americans to confront the harsh realities of war and consequently pursue a path where everyone is presented a choice, in his words, "a choice of nonviolent coexistence instead of violent coannihilation.”
This beautifully designed hardcover edition presents Dr. King’s speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality.
A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam,” part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. At New York City's Riverside Church in 1967, Dr. King stood in front of a rapt audience and criticized the Vietnam War as a destructive act of force and a cruel manipulation of the poor—for those fighting on either side. He urged Americans to confront the harsh realities of war and consequently pursue a path where everyone is presented a choice, in his words, "a choice of nonviolent coexistence instead of violent coannihilation.”
This beautifully designed hardcover edition presents Dr. King’s speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality.
- GenresNonfiction
176 pages, Hardcover
Published January 9, 2024
2 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Martin Luther King Jr.
449 books3,488 followersMartin Luther King, Jr. was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. King was a Baptist minister, one of the few leadership roles available to black men at the time. He became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a national holiday in the United States in 1986. In 2004, King was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a national holiday in the United States in 1986. In 2004, King was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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October 29, 2023read this for class; apt words in light of the current Palestinian genocide led by Israel and funded by the United States. I appreciate how King synthesizes Christianity with radical politics.
"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, “This way of
settling differences is not just.” This business of burning human beings with napalm, of
filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate
into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody
battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled
with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more
money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."
"These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of
exploitation and oppression, and out of the wounds of a frail world, new systems of justice
and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as
never before. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”2 We in the West
must support these revolutions."
"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, “This way of
settling differences is not just.” This business of burning human beings with napalm, of
filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate
into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody
battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled
with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more
money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."
"These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of
exploitation and oppression, and out of the wounds of a frail world, new systems of justice
and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as
never before. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”2 We in the West
must support these revolutions."
November 25, 2025
The speech was constructed very well and delivered an impassioned argument against the war. I can see why relations with President Johnson soured.
January 19, 2026
I paid $25 for this book and honestly I wish I would've gotten more bang for my buck at this price but overall reading this on MLK Day felt like a good use of my time. I do not like the use of the word poor as I believe that there are people who are under-served and communities that are underfunded however the core & root of the book is something I am aligned with. Dr. King was against the Vietnam War and he made the argument that war is essential an attack on the "poor" and for that I agree 100%. We spend so much money on war and destruction when our society still doesn't have livable wages for all, affordable housing and universal healthcare. Dr. King's message in 1967 still holds true to this day.
Read
August 4, 2022A footnote in a book I'm reading for seminary led me to this speech by Dr. King, "A Time to Break Silence." This quote stood out to me.
"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."
"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."
January 16, 2024
LINK TO FULL TRANSCRIPT TEXT: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/spee...
parallels the current us-backed israeli occupation & genocide of palestine & its people with astounding poignancy, relevance, and resonance… 🤔 to live is to see history repeat itself, and feel silly and foolish for your shock 💭😀
parallels the current us-backed israeli occupation & genocide of palestine & its people with astounding poignancy, relevance, and resonance… 🤔 to live is to see history repeat itself, and feel silly and foolish for your shock 💭😀
September 8, 2025
If only every single person would read Dr. King's pleas for peace and apply it to the present situation in Palestine. If you swap out some of the historically-specific details you may mistake this speech about Vietnam for one about the United States' complicit and active role in genocide.
“Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. … I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.”
Many Americans today would likely consider Dr. King a troublesome radical rather than a visionary who centered his politics in love and justice.
“We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies.”
“A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
The following quote is so critically relevant to the atrocities committed by the Trump administration, and every administration before that shaped immigration policies around the greed of the prison-industrial complex.
“This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation's self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls "enemy," for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.”
I will read this every time I am anxious to take action against oppression and free myself from this nation's sick complicity.
"Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message -- of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history."
“Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. … I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.”
Many Americans today would likely consider Dr. King a troublesome radical rather than a visionary who centered his politics in love and justice.
“We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies.”
“A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
The following quote is so critically relevant to the atrocities committed by the Trump administration, and every administration before that shaped immigration policies around the greed of the prison-industrial complex.
“This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation's self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls "enemy," for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.”
I will read this every time I am anxious to take action against oppression and free myself from this nation's sick complicity.
"Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message -- of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history."
March 30, 2024
An essential read for every American. Though written in the 60’s with specific regard for Vietnam, his thesis is still highly relevant today. With the current war in Palestine top of mind, perhaps more-so than ever….
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews