The Reviled Hero

It’s the official Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal and state holiday, the day when lots of things are on sale. But if you are working hard, as I am, to be in an active state of antiracism, I’d love for you to join me in listening to or reading one of his most important, not famous, orations: the Riverside sermon, in which he broke silence about the Vietnam War. Stanford has a recording and transcript available at The King Center. I also recommend this conversation between Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, and Civil Rights era activist Ruby Sales; it took place on 4/4/17, the 50th anniversary of the “Beyond Vietnam” sermon.