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King went much further than simply declaring his opposition to the Vietnam War. He also declared his hostility to U.S. militarism in all its forms and asserted that such hostility was integral to his account of black freedom.

Dr. King and Ella Baker were the two primary leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in its first couple of years of existence, between 1958 and 1960. King was the heart, soul and speaking voice of SCLC; Baker was the Executive Secretary. Baker was a public speaker too, but she was primarily the behind-the-scenes, get-things-done, relationship-building person.

King’s critique of power was never purely about race: The collapse of independent media is partly what got us here. It was the independent and radical left media that forced mainstream media to cover the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, poverty and the fight against it. Over the last 15 years, more than half the jobs in the news industry had disappeared, media consolidation will quicken this trend.

To overcome the resistance of conservative politicians, including President Reagan and many of his fellow citizens, Wonder put his career on hold, led rallies from coast to coast and galvanized millions of Americans with his passion and integrity. But it took 15 years.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech against the Vietnam War on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New York one of the most profound and important speeches in American history. Without question, King’s speech in April helped to energize the anti-war movement and, through his profound moral analysis, in defining the degenerate role of the US in that war. It also helped to topple a sitting U.S. president - a profound lesson for us today.

50 years ago today, King blasted militarism, racism and poverty in his “Beyond Vietnam” speech. The new Beyond the Moment campaign carries forward his radical vision.