MARTIN LUTHER KING OPPOSED WAR AND SPOKE OUT AGAINST IT

Dr. King's words are as relevant today as they were almost 44 years ago; they could have been spoken yesterday.

Quotes from Martin Luther King's sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 30, 1967 opposing the Vietnam War and calling for "a revolution of values":

"The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war."

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal."

"...there are those who are seeking to equate dissent with disloyalty. It's a dark day in our nation when high-level authorities will seek to use every method to silence dissent. Something is happening and people are not going to be silenced. The truth must be told."

"... the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government."

"There will be no meaningful solution until some attempt is made to know these people [the Vietnamese], and hear their broken cries."

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

"Come home, America. I call on Washington today. I call on every man and woman of good will all over America today."

Video: Martin Luther King, "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" posted by nocorporatenews 1-11-07 [Excerpt from Martin Luther King's sermon on April 30, 1967] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U&feature=related 22:49

AN ACT OF STATE: THE EXECUTION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING - Singer-songwriter Vic Sadot (http://www.youtube.com/user/vasyvic wrote (in part) in a recent email:

William Pepper is a legendary American author, British barrister, and King family lawyer. Martin Luther King contacted William Pepper after reading an article Pepper had written in Ramparts magazine about the effects of the Vietnam War on the children of Vietnam. He invited Pepper to speak to his congregation, which was the beginning of a life-long friendship with MLK and his family. William Pepper continued to investigate the assassination of MLK for years, and he represented the King family in court. 

The King family and William Pepper got considerable criticism in the mainstream press for stating that they did not believe that James Earl Ray was the killer of King. In 1999 they won a trial in a Memphis, Tennessee court from a jury of six whites and six blacks. They won a unanimous conviction of Loyd Jowers and "unnamed government conspirators" for the murder of Martin Luther King. King was executed in broad daylight at the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. Jowers was the owner of Jim's Grill across the street from the Lorraine Motel where some of the assassination planning was done. Jowers and waitresses from that era gave testimony that persuaded the American jury that there was a "conspiracy" to execute Dr King. William Pepper later wrote a book about the trial and the lack of fair or even any media coverage in the case of their victory. William Pepper's book is called "An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King".

An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King
A Music Video by Vic Sadot based on the book of the same title by King family lawyer, William Pepper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHzJasPd1bc 4:57

Reference:
A talk given by William Pepper in San Francisco on February 4, 2003 upon the release of his book: http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/WFP020403.html

This song was written by Mike Millius on the night of April 4, 1968.
"The Ballad of Martin Luther King" - sung and played by Pete Seeger and Brother Kirk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umsu2ybYPa0 2:25

Flier in commemoration of MARTIN LUTHER KING - January 17, 2011 - by David R. Kimball