Beyond Vietnam: Dr. King's 1967 Speech with Foreword by Viet Thanh Nguyen on Justice, Equality, and Peace (The Essential Speeches of Dr. MLK Jr.) - Hardcover

King Jr., Martin Luther

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006335103X ISBN 13: 9780063351035

Publisher: HarperOne, 2024

Synopsis

"A time comes when silence is betrayal." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On April 4, 1967 — exactly one year before his assassination — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stepped to the pulpit of New York City's Riverside Church and broke from the expectations of his role as a civil rights leader to make a passionate moral plea against the Vietnam War. He argued that the war drained resources from anti-poverty programs, sent young Black men to fight for freedoms they had not found at home, and exposed a deeper spiritual crisis at the heart of American life.

Now published as a beautifully designed hardcover edition with a foreword by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence brings this essential, overlooked speech to a new generation. His words were not addressed to Hanoi — they were addressed to us.

Why this speech still matters today:

• War and inequality are still intertwined. King's warning that military spending cannibalizes investment in the poor is as urgent as ever.
• The cost of silence hasn't changed. His courage in speaking out against his own government remains a model for moral leadership today.
• Racism, militarism, and poverty remain linked. King named these as interlocking evils — and their intersection continues to define American life.
• His foreign policy prophecy came true. King predicted endless cycles of intervention without a "radical revolution of values." History has proven him right.

This book presents the full text of the speech in an artfully designed format. It is a book to read, to display, to share, and to return to whenever the question arises: When do we speak?

Beyond Vietnam is not a relic of the past. It is a challenge for the present. The choice, as Dr. King said, is still ours.

About this title

About the Authors

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), preacher, civil rights leader, and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace, inspired and sustained the struggle for freedom, interracial brotherhood, and social justice through his philosophy and strategies of nonviolence.

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and many other awards. His other books include a sequel, The Committed, and the bestselling short story collection The Refugees. Other works are Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War and A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial, as well as the children’s books Chicken of the Sea and Simone. His last book was To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 006335103X
• ISBN 13: 9780063351035
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176