Martin Luther King, Jr

On April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon at Riverside Church in New York City. By this time he had become a staunch critic of overall U.S. foreign policy, which he deemed militaristic. In this speech, King called the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today."

King said, “I must be true to my conviction that I share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of sonship and brotherhood, and because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned especially for his suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them.

“This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation's self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation and for those it calls enemy, for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.”