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Newly Discovered 1964 MLK Speech on Civil Rights, Segregation & Apartheid South Africa

On December 7, 1964, days before he received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a major address in London. The recording was recently discovered by Brian DeShazor, director of the Pacifica Radio Archives. 

“I must say to you tonight that I never intend to become adjusted to the madness of militarism and the self-defeating effects of physical violence, for in a day when Sputniks and explorers are dashing through outer space and guided ballistic missiles are carving highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can win a war. It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence; it is either nonviolence or non-existence. And the alternative to disarmament, the alternative to a greater suspension of nuclear tests, the alternative to strengthening the United Nations and thereby disarming the whole world, may well be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation. And I assure you that I will never adjust to the madness of militarism.“ - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Full speech here. 

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“I’ve often wondered what that bust of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office must be whispering to President Obama late at night as he’s making these kinds of plans,” says Tavis Smiley, author of the new book, “Death of a King: The Real Story of...

“I’ve often wondered what that bust of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office must be whispering to President Obama late at night as he’s making these kinds of plans,” says Tavis Smiley, author of the new book, “Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year.”

“Everybody quotes Martin. It’s almost become pablum and platitude to quote him every time we have a public gathering. But to really wrestle with the subversiveness of his truth about that triple threat that he talked about: racism, poverty and militarism?”  

As debate continues over U.S. plans to launch airstrikes in Syria, Democracy Now! looks at the final year of King’s life when he became a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy and the Vietnam War, calling his government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” Click here to watch the 15-minute interview with Tavis Smiley.

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Democracy Now! Archive on the 1963 March on Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1963. Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech advocating racial harmony during the march. The event was organized by a coalition of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. The event is credited with pushing lawmakers to pass the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965).
Over the years, Democracy Now! has interviewed key civil rights leaders, scholars, artists and journalists about the historic event, the civil rights movement, and the challenges that remain today.
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Watch: 50 Years Later, the Untold History of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s Most Famous Speech.

More than a quarter-million people came to the nation’s capital on August 28, 1963, to protest discrimination, joblessness and economic inequality faced by African Americans. Many now consider the march to be a key turning point in the civil rights movement. In a 45-minute interview, Democracy Now! explores the largely untold history behind the march and how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, like his own political legacy, remains widely misunderstood.

“I think today, the way the speech and the march are understood is wrapped in the flag, and seen as one more example of American genius, when in fact it was a mass, multiracial, dissident act,” says Gary Younge, author of “The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream.” “The powers that be really did not want this [march] to happen. The march was policed like a military operation.” We also speak to historian William P. Jones, author of “The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights.” “It really had a very profound effect on shifting the national conversation, even within the civil rights movement itself, toward a major focus on the connections between racial equality and economic justice,” Jones says.

See more interviews about the March on Washington in the Democracy Now! archive.

What do you think are the most pressing issues today as thousands commemorate this historic event?

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