Webinar Anniversary of MLK Breaking Silence: Beyond Vietnam Speech

ANNIVERSARY MLK 1967 “BEYOND VIETNAM” SPEECH AND 1968 ASSASSINATION, ONLINE EVENT

Mon April 4, 4:15 pm, Zoom Webinar

with Panel and Reading of 1967 speech

With Live ASL Interpretation + Spanish Translation

April 4, 2022 is the 54th anniversary of Rev. Dr. King’s assassination, and the 55th anniversary of his historic A Time to Break Silence speech delivered at Riverside Church in New York City. This speech went beyond civil rights to condemn militarism, racism, and extreme materialism, enforced by a culture of violence, as the source of the ills that plague U.S. society and stands as one of Rev. Dr. King’s greatest accomplishments. Our national webinar will include a pre-recorded reading of the speech and a live panel discussion with well-known activists hosted by a broad coalition of civil and human rights, peace, and justice organizations.

Many organizations have come together to promote national and local readings of Dr. King’s “Breaking Silence” speech in communities across the country to study the lessons of this speech and to convene local coalitions working for justice. The list includes: SNCC Legacy Project, National Council of Elders, Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee, The Highlander Research and Education Center, National Black Justice Coalition, Zinn Education Project, Voices of a People’s History, Fellowship of Reconciliation, National Civil Rights Museum, and Cleveland Peace Action.

Please plan to join us online to watch our national webinar where well-known advocates will be joined by grassroots organizers who will read the speech. It promises to be an inspiring program. A moderated panel discussion will follow the readings offering perspectives about the relevance of Dr. King’s speech to peace and justice work today.

The online live panelists include:

• Stephen Ward (Moderator) – a historian and activist. He is a professor in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. His work explores African American political thought and the creation of Black Power. He is president of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center in Detroit.

• Robin D.G. Kelley – a scholar-activist who has written extensively on the African American struggle for freedom. He is the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at UCLA and author of several books and articles exploring African and American culture, history, and the struggle for justice.

• Andrea J. Ritchie – a writer, lawyer and activist who advocates for the lives of victims of police violence. She is the author of Invisible No More, a history of state violence against women of color. Her work has helped define the national movement for Abolition.

• Crystal Cavalier – a proud member of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, a water protector, and a powerful voice for the people of North Carolina. She launched the Native American Caucus of the North Carolina’s Democratic Party and helped to charter ten county-level caucuses across the state while serving as Caucus president. Crystal also founded the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of NC and will soon earn an EdD centered on the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in her state. Earlier in her career, while raising three children as a military spouse, Crystal worked to improve health care access for military families and secure job stability for military spouses. Currently a candidate for Congress, Crystal Cavalier has demonstrated her ability to bring people together across differences to win organizing campaigns for basic human needs.

• Justin Pearson – the fourth son of five boys born to teenage parents in Memphis, Tennessee. Justin J. graduated from Mitchell High School as Valedictorian and Bowdoin College in 2017 majoring in both Government & Legal Studies and Education Studies. He currently lives in Memphis and works at the headquarters of Year Up in Boston, Massachusetts. He is focused on social, racial, and economic justice as Special Assistant to the CEO of Year Up – a national program helping 18 – 24-year-olds gain training and entry-level jobs. Justin J. is also a leader of Memphis Community Against Pollution and co-founder of Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP) which is a Black-led environmental justice organization that successfully defeated a multi-billion dollar company’s crude oil pipeline project. He is the Co-Lead and the Strategic Advisor for the Mid South Mobilization Committee of the Poor People’s Campaign: National Call for Moral Revival. Justin J. Pearson hopes his life preaches a sermon that will glorify God and honor his ancestors.

• Nsé Ufot

The event is free and we hope you’ll join us.    Register here: https://bit.ly/kingbreakingsilence2022

Local communities are also warmly encouraged to host their own community readings of “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” and there is an Organizer’s Guide available on our King & Breaking Silence Project website.

Questions? info@kingandbreakingsilence.org.