Bingham, Jonathan B. "Dr. Martin Luther King: Extension of Remarks
of Hon. Jonathan B. Bingham of New York in the House of
Representatives." Congressional Record 113, Part 7
(April 5, 1967), H8497.
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On April 4, 1967, exactly one year to the day before he was assassinated,
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech condemning the war in
Vietnam. In the speech given at the Riverside Church in New York, King
called the United States the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world
today." He additionally urged African-Americans to refuse the draft and
become conscientious objectors. Reaction from inside and outside the
civil rights movement was swift and generally condemnatory. Editorials
from Life, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others saw
King's speech as detrimental to both the cause of civil rights and peace.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), disassociated itself
from its president's statements, as did the more moderate civil rights
groups like the Urban League. Many in the civil rights movement feared
that King's radicalization would dry up funds from white northern liberal
sources.
The day after King's speech, House Representative Jonathan B. Bingham
of New York (D) got onto the floor of the House and used his allotted time
for extended remarks to sharply criticize King for his attempt to
combine the Civil Rights Movement and the Peace Movement. Rep. Bingham,
a self described former supporter, also saw King's speech as harmful to
both causes. He states:
"If all American Negroes were to refuse to serve in Vietnam, as Dr. King
urges, they would be stepping out of the mainstream of American life.
They would be giving aid and comfort to the bigots who want to keep
them segregated and in the ghettoes."
Furthermore, Bingham described King's calls for unilateral cease fire,
negotiations, and a set date for U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam
"unrealistic."
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