Dear Colleagues, just forwarding this on.  Tom Dutton

 4. Interview with Vincent G. Harding (Larry Mobley)

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 17:29:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Larry Mobley <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [SNCC-List] Interview with Vincent G. Harding
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"On April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one
of the most important speeches in American history.
It?s referred to as ?the Riverside speech? in
reference to King delivering the speech at Riverside
Church in New York City. It?s also called ?Breaking
the Silence? or ?Beyond Vietnam.? In it he decisively
and publicly expands his ministry to include
opposition to the U.S. war against Vietnam. He was
vilified for this move by his ?friends? as well as his
detractors. The Riverside speech, which names the
sickness eating the American soul as ?the giant
triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and
militarism,? was a watershed moment in American
history. A year later, to the day, Dr. King was
assassinated.

King?s Riverside speech draws heavily from a draft by
civil rights leader and historian Dr. Vincent G.
Harding that Harding had written over his Christmas
vacation in 1966. King made a few minor changes but
essentially delivered Harding?s original text. In
preparation for the 40th anniversary of King?s
address, Sojourners interviewed Dr. Harding on the
history and context of the speech and what it means
for America today. Dr. Harding was interviewed by
Sojourners associate editor Rose Marie Berger in
December 2006."

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0704&article=070421x



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