The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at Riverside Church in New York, April 4, 1967. Photo credit: John C. Goodwin.
By Nancy Price
Earth Democracy Issue Committee
Honor Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4th by organizing a public reading of his “Beyond Vietnam” Riverside Church Speech in your community.
Historians say it was a turning point in the peace movement. It’s time to lift up this speech for another turning point. Three thousand (3,000) people listened to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech at Riverside Church in 1967 (read the full speech here and listen to it here).
In moving from civil rights to a critique of capitalism and war, King called for a “revolution of values.” He envisioned “a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation,” and cautioned “a nation that continues year after year to spend more on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
With the 79th Anniversary of NATO being held in Washington, D. C. on April 4th, which is not only the day of this memorable speech but the day of King’s assassination a year later in 1968, what better way to honor Martin Luther King.
Here are suggestions for organizing this event that peace and justice groups in Oakland, California, created and have carried out in the years following the events of 9/11. Members of WILPF’s East Bay Branch have often attended.
- Here is an Introduction and the text of the speech divided into 16 sections. You may want to enlist at least 16 speakers and to print out the introduction and speech in enlarged font and assemble several 3-ring binders with a full set of the materials.
- Invite local elected officials, community leaders, activist groups, and high school students to participate in the reading in front of a federal or local building such as a city hall, or other suitable location. You may want to hold a press conference involving representatives of these constituencies in advance. You may need to secure a permit for a sound system.
- Set up a “podium” and some visuals. The podium can be as simple as a music stand draped with a cloth, where you can support one of the open binders, and posters or banners depicting Dr. King and whatever messages you want to project.
- Begin the reading by sounding a gong or bell, signifying a moment of silence, and have someone read the introduction. You may wish to prepare a list of readers in advance, which you could post on butcher paper or a whiteboard. You should have an extra binder or two available so that readers can practice reading their sections in advance.
- If there’s a lot of interest from prospective readers, you may wish to repeat the reading several times. In Oakland, this reading has been done in as many as three consecutive readings, ending with a symbolic ceremony at sundown.
If you do organize this event, please let us know, take pictures and send them to nancytprice39@gmail.com.
Here, in the South, where the sun has been welcomed after 11 days of rain and more flooding in some of our already contaminated rivers, this report basically allows us time to say, “We haven’t given up! We shout that we won’t be silent.” 
Triangle (NC) WILPF members joined thousands of other marchers on February 9 for the 13th Annual HKonJ (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) People’s Assembly Coalition Moral March on Raleigh, NC, which was initiated by William Barber when he was NC President of the NAACP. Triangle Branch member Lucy Lewis reported that Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, NC NAACP President, and Rev. Dr. William Barber III, President of Repairers of the Breach and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, were the featured speakers. They and other powerful speakers addressed the crowd at historic Shaw University before marching to the old NC State Capitol for a post-march rally with the theme, “No Time to Stand Down: We Must Stand Strong and Endure!” Lucy wrote, “Triangle WILPF, one of the 200+ partners of the NC NAACP-led HKonJ Coalition, are proud to have been participants since the first rally in 2006.” You can view and hear some of the proceedings 
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline comes south from Virginia’s Buckingham County into North Carolina’s Northampton County, both majority African-American (Northampton County is 57% African American); and it is proposed to go cross Robeson County with the highest percentage of Native Americans, before probably going into SC to an LNG port. In southern Buckingham County, VA, and Northampton County, NC, huge compressor stations are being opposed on environmental justice grounds, but despite local and broad-based citizen group opposition in both states, the $5.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline was given a permit by the NC Dept. of Environmental Quality despite a badly flawed analysis and permit that includes construction under the Tar River from FERC as a means of “stabilizing” the sites. (Read 
Environmental damage over the last 50 years has been increasing. Problems abound with water contamination (ocean and rivers), falling water tables, air and soil contamination, and reduced forests. So much of this pollution is caused by the US military. Jet fuel is in the water and air; tanks consume two gallons per mile; bombs destroy buildings and forests; deforestation occurs because of chemicals; and much more.
Cherrill Spencer and Judy Adams of the Peninsula/Palo Alto Branch helped organize some materials for the table, but it was Roberta who stood at the table and engaged with passers-by because Cherrill was ill at home suffering from what turned out to be a ruptured appendix (removed 2 days later). 
