01/21/19 01/21/19 [captioning made possible amy: from pacicifica, this is democracy now! rev. martin luther king, jr.: "fleecy y locks, and black complexion cannot forfeit nature's claim. skin may differ, but affection dwells in black and white the same," and, "were i so tall as to reach the pole, or to grasp the ocean at a span, i must be measured by my sououl. the mind is the standard of the man." amy: to mark the 90th anniversary of dr. martin luther king, jr.'s birth,

we have a recording of the leader. the summer 1964, just days before he received the e nobel pepeace prize in oslo, norway. he gave a major addresss in londodon on segreregation, the fight fofor civil rights, and support for nelslson mandela and the antiti-apartheid s strue in south africa. reverend martin luther king, jr.: if the united kingdom and the united states decided tomorrow morning not to buy south african goods, not to buy south african gold, to put an embargo on oil, if our investors andnd capitalis would withdrdraw their support for that racial tyranny that we find t there, then apartheid would be brought to an end. amy: today, dr. martin luther king, jr. for the hour. all of that and more, coming up. this is demomocracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. totoday is a federal holiday honoring dr. martin luther king.

he was born 9090 years ago this month on january 15, 1929. he was assassinanated apapril , 196868, at the lorraine motel in memphis, tennessee. dr. king was just 39 years old. while he is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor, organizing the poor people's campaign to address issues of economic justice. dr. king was also a fierce critic of u.s. foreign policy and the vietnam war. in 1964, dr. king became the youngest recipient of the nobel peace prize. days before he receceived that a award in ososlo, norway,. king traveled d to london. on dececember 7, 1964, dr. king gave e a speech sponsored by the b british group christstian actionon about t the civil rights strugge in the united states,

as well as the anti-apartheid movement in south africa. the e speech was recorded by saul bernstein, who was workining as the european c correspondent fofor pacificaca radio. bernstein's recordrding was rediscovovered by p pacifica radio archivives. this is that address by dr. martin luther king, jr. rev. martin n luther king, jr.:i want to talk with you mainly about our struggle in the united states, and before taking my seat, talk about some of the larger struggles in the whole world and some of the more difficult struggleles in places likeke south africa. but there is a desperate, poignant question on the lips of people all over our country and all over the world. i get it almost everywhere i goo and almost every press conference. it is a question of whether we are making any real progress

in the struggle to make racial justice a reality in the united states of america. and whenever i seek to answer that question, on the one hand, i seek to avoid an undue pessimism. on the o other hand, i i seek to avoid a superficial optimimi. and i try toto incorporate or develop what i consider a realistic position by admitting o on the one handd that we have m made many s significantnt strides over the last few years in the struggle for racial justici,

but by admitting that before the problem is solved we still have numerous things to do and mamany challenges to meet. and it is this realistic position that i would like to use as a basis for our thinking together tonight as we think about the problem in the united states. we have come a long, long way, but we have a long, long way to go before the problem is solved. now let us noticice first that we've come a long, long way. and i would like to say at this point that t the negro himself has come a long, long way in re-evaluating his own intrinsic worth.

now, in order to illustrate this, a little history is necessary. it was in the year 1619 when the first negro slaves landed on the shores of america. and they were brought t ther frfrom the soils of africa. unlike the pilgrim fathers who landed at plymouth a year later, they were brought there against their wills. and throughout slavery, the negro was treated in a very inhuman fashion. he was a thing to be used, not a person to be respected. the united states supreme court rendered a decision in 1857 known as the dred scott decision, which well illustrated this whole idea

and which well illustrated what existed at that time. for in this decision the supreme court of the united states said, in substance, that the negro is not a citizen of the united states, he is merely property subject to the dictates of his owner. and it went on to o say that the negro has no rights that the white man is bound to respect. this was the idea that prevailed during the days of slavery. with the growth of slavery, it became necessary to give some justification for it. you know, it seems to be a fact of life that human beings cannot continue to do wrong without eventually reaching out for some thin rationalization to clothe an obvious wrong in the beautiful garments of righteousness.

and this is exactly what happened during the days of slavery. there were those who even misused the bible and religion to give some justification for slavery and to crystallize the patterns of the status quo. and so it was argugued from some pulpitits that the negro was inferior by nature because of noah'h's curse upon the children n of ham. then thehe apostle p paul's s dm the e came a watchword - -- "servants be obedientt to youour master." anand one brother had prprobaby read thehe logic of the great philosopher aristototle. you know, aristotle did a great deal to bring into being what we now know as formal logic in philosophy. and in formal logic, there is a big word known as the syllogism,

which has a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. and so, this brother decided to put his argument for the inferiority of the negro in the framework of an aristotelian s syllogism. hehe could say all men are made in the image of god -- this was a major premisese. then came e thminor premisise -- god, as eveverybody knows, is n not a negro, therefore ththe negro is not a a man. this was the kind of reasoning ththat prevailed while living with the condnditis of slavery and then, later, segregationon, many negrs lost faith in ththemselves.. many came toto feel that perhaps they were leless than human. many came to feel that they were inferior. this, it seemsms to me, isis ththe greatestst tragedy o of s, the greatest traragedy ofof segregation,

not merely what it does to the individual physically, but what it does to o one psychologicalally. it scars the sououl of the segregated as well as the segregator. it gives the segregator a false sense of superiority, while leaving the segregated with a false sense of inferiority. and this is exactly what happened. then something happened to the negro, and circumstances made it possible and necessary for him to travel more -- the coming of the automobile, the upheavals of two world wars, the great depression. and so his rural plantation background gradually gave way to urban industrial life. his economic life was gradually rising through the growth of industry, the development of organized labor, and expanded educational opportunitities.

and even his cultural life s grgradually rirising through the e steady decline of c crippling i illiteracy. all of these forceces conjoinend to cause t the negro i in ameria to take e a new look at himself. neo masses a all ovebegan to reevaluluate themselvlves. and thenen something else happed along with all of this -- the negro in the uniteted states turned his eyes and his mind to o africa. and he noticed the m magnificent drama of independencee taking place on the e stage of african history. and noticing thehe developments and noticing whahat was happenig and noticing what w was being done onon the part of his blalack brothers a and sisters in africa gaveve him a n new sense o of dy in the united states and a new sense of self-respect.

the negro came to feel that he was somebody. his religion revealed to him that god loves alall ofis c chiren and that all men are made in his image, and that the basic thing about a man is not his specificity, but his fundamentum, not the texture of his hair or the color of his skin, but his eternal dignity and worth. and so the negro in america could now w cry out unconsciousy with the eloquent poet, "fleecy locks, and black cocomplexion cannot forfeit nature's claim. skin may differ,r, but affection dwelells in black andnd white the same," and "were i so tall as to reacach the pole, or to grasp ththe ocean at a sp, i must be memeasured by my soul. the mind is the standard of the man."

and wiwith this new sense of dignity and thisis new sense of self-f-respect, a a new negro o camento being wh a a new determrminatioto suffer, toto struggle, to sacrififice, and even to die ifif necessaryr, in order to be free. and this reveals that we have come a long, long wayay since 1619. but if we are to be true to the facts, it is necessary to say that not only has the negro reevaluated his own intrinsic worth, the whole nation has cocome a long,g, long way in extending the frontiers of civil rights. i would like to mention just a few things that have happened in our country which reveal this. 50 yearsrs ago, or even 25 years ago, a year harardly passed when numerous negroes were not brutally lynched by some vicious mob.

fortunately, lynchings have about ceased today. if one would go back to the turn of the century, you would find that in the southern part of the united states you had very few negroes registered to vote. by 1948, that number had leapaped to about 750,000.0. in 1960, it had leaped to 1,200,000. and when we went into the presidential election just a few weeks ago, that number had leaped to more than 2 million. we went into that election with more than two million negroes registered to vote in the south, which meant that we in the civil rights movement, by working hard, have been able to add more than 800,000 new negroes as registered voters in the last three years. this reveals that we have made strides. then when we look at the question of economic justice,

there's much to do, but we can at least say that some strides have been made. the average negro wage earner who is employed today in the united states earns 10 times more than the average negro wage earner of 12 years ago. and the national income of the negro is now at a little better than $28 billion a year, which is all -- more than alallf the exports of the united ststas and more than the natitional budget of cacanada. ththis revealsls that we have me some stridides in thisis area. but probably more than anything else -- and you've read about it so much here and all over the world, i'm sure -- we havave noticed a graduaual decline, and even demise, of ththe system of racial segrgregation.

now,w, the legal history of racial segrgregation had itits beginnining in 1896. mamany people e feel that t ral segregegation has been a reality in the united d states a a long, long time, but t the factct is that this was a r rather recent phenomomenon in our r country, just a l little e better than 60 yeyears old. and itit had its legal begininng withth a decision known asas the plessy v. ferguson decision, which said, , in substance, ththat separate but equal facilities couould exist. and d it made the doctrine of separate but equal the law w of the lana. we all know what happened as a result ofof the old plessy doctrine -- there was always the strict enforcement of the separate, withthout the slightest t intenn to abidede by the equal.

and the negro o ended up being plunged into the abybyss of exploitation wherere he eerienceded the blknkness of naggiging injustic. and d then something marvelous happened. the supreme court of ourur natin in 1954 examineded the legal body of segreregation, on may 17 of that year pronounced it constitutionally dead. it said, in substance, that t the old plessy doctrine mustst go, ththat separatate facilities are inhererently unequal, and thatat the segregated chilid on t the basis of his race is to deny that child equal precection of f the law.. and so we've s seen many changes since that momomentousus decisin was rendereded in 191954, that came as a gre beacon light of hope into millions of disisinherited pele all over r our nationon.

then something else happeneded, which brought t joy toto all of f our hearts. it happened this year. it was last year, after the struggle in birmingham, alabama, that the late presesident kennny cameme to realizize that there was a basic issue that our country had to grapple with. with a sense of concern and a sense of immediacy, he made a great speech a few days before -- rather, it was really on the same day that the university of alabama was to be integrated, and governor wallace stood in the door and tried to block that integration. mr. kennedy had to have the national guard federalized. he stood before the nation and said in eloquent terms the problem which we face in the area of civil rights is not merely a political issue,

it is not merely an economic issue, it is, at bottom, a moral issue. it is as old as the scriptures and as modern as the constitution. it is a question of whether we will treat our negro brothers as we ourselves would like to be treated. and on the heels of that great speech, he went and recommended to the congress of our nation the most comprehensive civil rights bill ever recommended by any president of our great nation. unfortunately, after many months of battle and for a period we got a little tired of that t- you know, there are some men in our country who like to talk a lot. maybe you read about the filibuster. and you know they get bogged down in the paralysis of analysis, and they will just go on and on and on.

and they wanted to talk that bill to death. but president lyndonon johnson got to work. he started calling congressmen and senators in and started meeting day in and d day out with infnfluential peoeople in the c country and making it clear that bill had d to pass asas a tribute to the late e president kennedy, bubut also as a tribute to the greatness of ththe county and as an expressision i its dedicatioion to the americacan dream. anand it was that great day last summer that that bill came into being, and it was on july 2 that mr. johnson signed that bill and it became the law of the land. and so in america now, we have a civil rights bill. and i'm happy to report to you that, by and large, that bill is beieing implemented in communities all across the south. we have seen some susurprising lelevels of compliance,

even in some communities in the state of mississippi. and whenever you can find anything right in mississippi, things are getting better. amy: dr. martin luther king, speaking in london, december 7, 1964. we'll return to the speech after in a minute.  [music break]

amy: thiisis democracycy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in this democracy now! special, we return to dr. martin luther king, jr. in his own w words, speaking december 7, 1964, in london, just days he r received the nobl peace prize in oslo, norway. rev. martin luther king, jr.: we can never forget the fact that just this summer three civil rights workers were brutally murdered near philadelphia, mississippi. all of this reveals to us that we have not achieved the level of brotherhood -- we have not achieved the brotherhood that we need and that we must have in our nation. we still have a long, long way to go. i mentioned voter registration

and the fact that we have been able to add about 800,000 new registered voters in the last two or three years, the fact that it is over 2 million now. i guess that sounded like real progress, and it does represent some progress. but let me give you the other side. and that is the fact that there are still more than 10 million negroes living in the southern part of the united states, and some 6 million of the negroes living in the southern part of the united states are of voting age and yet only 2 million are registered. and this means that 4 million remain unregistered, not merely bececause ththey are apathetic, not because they are complacent -- this may be true of some few -- but because all types of conniving methods are still l being used to keep negroes from becoming registered voters.

complex literacy tests are given, which make it almost impossible for anybody to pass the test, even if he has a ph.d. degree in any field or a law degree from the best law schools of the world. and then actual economic reprisals arare often taken out against negrgroes who seek to register and vote in some of the black belt counties of mississippi and alabama and other places.. then some e are actualally facd with physical l violence, and sometimemes physical death.. this reveaeals that we havave a greaeat deal ththat must bebe done in this s area. i mentioned economomic justice. and i i am sure ththat that fig, $28 billion, sounded very large. that's a lot of money. but then i must go on and give you the other side if i am to be honest about the picture. that is the fact that 42% of the negro

families of the united states still eaearn less than $2000 a year, while just 16% of t the white families earn less than $ $2000 a year. 21% of the negro families of america earn less than $1000 a year, while just 5% of the white families earn less than $1000 a yeyear. and then we face the fact that 88% o of the negro fafamies o of america earn less than $5000 a year, while just 58% of the white families earn leless than $5$5000 a year. so we can n see that t there is still a great t gulf between the haves, so to speak, and the have-nots. and if america is to continue to grow and progreress and devep and move on towoward its grgreatness, this problblem must bebe solve. now, t this economic problblem is getetting more seriouss because of many forces alive in our world and in our nation.

for many years, negrgroewere denieied adequate educatioional opportunities. for many years, negroes were even denied apprenticeship training. and so the forces of labor and industry so often discriminated against negroes. and this meantnt that the negro ended up being limited, by and large, to unskilled and semi-skilled labor. now, because of the forces of automation and cybernation, these are the jobs that are now passing away. and so the negro wakes up in a city like detroit, michigan, and discovers that he is 28% of the population and about 72% of the unemployed. now in order to grapple with that problem, our federal government will have to develop massive retraining programs, massive public works programs, so that automation can be a b blessing,

as it must be to our society, and not a curse. then the other thingng when we think of this economomic proble, we must think of t the fact that there is n nothing m more danges than to build a society with a s segment i in that s soy which feels ththat it has notakeke in the society. nothing morere dangerorous ththan to o build a a society with a numumber of people who see life as little morore than a lonong and desolate corridor witith no exit sign. they end up wiwith despair because theyey have no jobs, because theyey can't educate ththeir children, bebecause they can't t live in a a nice home, because ththey can't have adequate heaealth facililities. we always hehear of the various reasons why and the varirious mythss coconcerning integration anand why integrationn shouldn't come into being.g. those people who argue against integration at this point

often say, "well, if you integrate the public schools, for instance, you u will pull e e white rarae back a generation." and theyey like to talk about the cultural lag in the negro community. and then they go on to say, "now, you know, the negro is a criminal, and he has the highest crime rate in any city thatat you can find in the uninited states." and the arguments go on ad infinitum why integratioion shououldn't come into bebeing. but i think there's an answer to that. and that is that i if there is cultural lag in the n negro community --- and there e certainly is -- this lag is s there because of segregation and d discriminatio. it''s there because e of long ys of slaveryry and segregation. criminal respoponses are not racial but environmentalal. poverty, econonomic deprivation, social isolation,

and all l of these things breed crime, whatever the racial grououp may be. and it is s a torturouous logic toto use the t tragic results of raciaial segregation as an argument for the continuation of it. itit is nececessary to go back. [applause] rev. martin luther king, jr.: and so it is necessary to see this and to go all out to m make economic jusue a reality all over our nation. i mentioned that racial segregation isis about dead in the united states, but it's still with us. we arere about past the day of legal segreregation. we have about ended de jure segregatioion where the laws of the nation or of a particular state can uphold it because of the civil rights bill

and the supreme court's decision and other things. we have passed the day when the negro can't eat at a lunch counter, with the exception of a few isolated situations, or where the negro can't check in a motel or hotel. we are fastly passing that day. but there is another form of segregationon coming up. it is cocoming up through housig discrimination, joblessness, and the de facto segregation in the public schools. and so the ghettoized conditions that exist make for many problems, and it makes for a hardcore de facto segregation that we must grapple with on a day-to-day y basis. and so this is the problem that we face, and this is a problem that we are forced to deal with. and we are going to deal with it in a determined way.

i am absolutely convinced that segregation is on its deathbed, and those who represent it, whether they be in the united states or whether they be in london, england, the system is on its deathbed. [applause] rev. martin luther king, jr.: but certainly, we all know that if democracy is to live in any nation, sesegregation must dieie. and as i i've tried to say alover america, we've got to get rid of segregation not merely because it will help our image -- it certainly will help our image in the world. we've got to get t rid of segregagation not merely bebecause it will l appeal to an and afafrican pepeople -- and this certainly wilill be helpful, this s is important. but inin the finalal analysis, racialal discriminination must e uprooteded from amererican sociy

and from every socociety becaususe it is momorally wron. so it is necessary to go all out and develolop massive action p programs to get rid of racicial segregation. now i would lilike to mentioione or two ideas that circulate i in our socicie- and they probably circulatate in youour societyy anand all overer the world -- that keep us from deveveloping the kikind of actition programs necessary to get rid of discrimination and s segregatio. one is what t refer to as the myth of f time. there e are those individualss wharargue that onlnly time can solve e the problem of racil injustice inin the united state, in south africa, or anywhere else. you've got to wait on time. and i know they've said to us so often in the states and to our allies in the whitete community, "just t be nicanand be patientt and continueue to pr,

and d in 100 or 200 years ththe problem m will work itself outu" we have heard and wewe have livd with the m myth of time. the only answewer that i can gie to that mymyth is that time is neututral. it can be usused eitither constructively or destructctive. and d i must h hestly y say to u that i'm convinced that t the forces of ill will have often used time much more efeffectively than t the forces of goodwill.. and wewe may have to repent in this gegeneration, not merely for the vitriolic wowords d the violenent actions of the bad p people, but for the appalling silelence and indifffference of the good people who sit arou sayaying, "wait onon time." [applause] rev. martiluluther kining, jr.: and somewhere alalong the waway it is necessary to see that human progress never rollsls in

on the wheheels of inevitabilit. it comes touough thehe tireless efforts and the persistetent work of dedicated individuals who are willlling to be co-workekers with gogod. and without this h hard work,, time itstself becomes an a ally of the primite forces of social stagnation. and so we must help time, and we must realize that the time is always ripe to do right. this is so vital and this is so necessary. now the other myth that gets around a great deal in our nation and, i'm sure in other nations of the world is the idea that you can't solve the problems in the realm of human relations through legislation. you can't solve the housing problem and the job problem and all of these other problems through legislation. you've got to change the heart. we had a presidential candidate just recently who spoke about this a great deal.

and i think mr. goldwater sincerely believed that you couldn't do anything through legislation because he voted against everything in the senate, including the civil rights bill. and he said all over the nation throughout the election that we don't need legislation, that legislation can't deal with this problem. but he was nice enough to say that you've got to change the heart. now i want to at least go halfway with brother goldwater at that point. i think he's right. if we're going to get this problem solved in america and all over the world, ultimately, people must change their heartss where they have prejudices. if we are going to solve the problems facing mankind, i would be the first to say that every white person must look down deep within and remove every prejudice that may be there and come to see that the negro, and the colored peoples, generally, must be treateted right,t,

not merely because the law says it, but because it is right and because it is natural. i i agree with t this 100%. and i'm sure that ifif the p prm is to o be solved,d, ultimatel, men n must be obedient not merely to that which can be enfnforced byby the law, but they m must rise to the majajestic heights of being obedientt to the unenenforceable. but after sayingng all of that, i must go on to ththe other sid. this is where i mumust leave mr. goldwater and others who believe that legislation has no place. it may be true that you can't legislate integration, but you can legislate desegregation. it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. it may be true that the law can't change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless. it may be true that the law can't make a man love me, but it canan restrain him from lynching me.

and i think that's pretty important also. [applause] amy: dr. martin luther king, jr., speaking in london on december 7, 1964. we'llll return to that speechch in a minute.  [music break] amy: this isis democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in this democracy now! special, we return to dr. martin luther king, jr. in his own words as we mark the 90th anniversary of his birth.

he g gave this speech in london, december 7, 1964, just days before dr. king receieived the nobebel peae prize in oslo, norway. rev. martin luther king, jr.: now as you knonow, we have been engaged in the united states in a massive struggle to make desegregation and, finally, integration a reality. and in that struggle, there has been an undergirding philosophy -- the philosophy of nonviolence, the philosophy and method of nonviolent resistance. and i'd like to say just a few words about the method or the philosophy that has undergirded our struggle. and first i want to say that i'm still convinced that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. it has a way of disarming the opponent,

exposing his moral defenses. it weakens his morale, and at the same time, it works on his conscience and he just doesn't know how to handle it. if he doesn't beat you, wonderful. if he beats you, you develop the quiet courage of accepting blows without retaliating. if he doesn't put you in jail, wonderful. nobody with any sense loves to go to jail. but if he puts y you in jail, you go in that jail and transform it from a dungeon of shame to a haven of freedom and human dignity. even if he tries to kill you, you develop the inner conviction that there is something so dear, something so precious, something so eternally true that they are worth dying for. and if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live. and this is what the nonviolent discipline says. [applause] rerev. martin luther kining, jr and then

the other thing about it is that it gives the individual a way of struggling to secure moral ends through m moral mean. one of thehe great debates ofof history has bebeen over ththe whole quqn of ends and means. all l the way back from m the ds of plato's dialogogues coming on up through machiavelllli and other, there have been those indidividuals who argued that t the end justifies the means. but in a real sense, the nonviolent philosophy comes along and says that the end is pre-existent in the means. the means represent the ideal in the making and the end in process. and so that in the long run of history, immoral means cannot bring about moral ends. somehow man must c come to t the point that he s sees the necessity of having ends and means cohering, so to spspe. and this is one e of the thihins that is basic c in the nonviolet philosophy at its bestst.

it gives one a way and a method of s struggle which says that you can seek to secure moral ends through moral means. it also says that itit is possie to struggle agaiainst an evil, unjust s system, with allll your mimight and withth all your heart, and even h hate that unjust system, bubut yet you maintainin an attitude ofof active goodwill and understanding and even love for the e perpetrators of thahat evil sysystem. and this is the most misunderstood aspect of nononviolence. and this is wherere those who don't want to follow the nonviolent method say a lot of bad things to those of us who talk about l love. but i still go o on and believe in it because i am still convinced that it is love that makes the world go round, and somehow this kind of love can be a powerful force for social change. i'm not talking about a weak love.

i'm not talking about emotional bosh here. i'm not talking about some sentimental quality. i'm not talking about an affectionate response. it would be nonsense to urge oppressed people to love their violent oppressors in an affectionate sense, and i have never advised that. when jesus said, "love your enemies," i'm happy he didn't say, "like your enemies." it's pretty difficult to like some people. but love is greater than like. love is understanding creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. theologians talk about this kind of love withth the greek word agape, whwhich is a sort of overflowining love that seeks nothingng in retutur. and when one d develops ththis, you risese to the position of being able toto love the pern whwho does the evil deeded, whwhile hatiting the deed that the pererson does.. and i believe that this can be donene. psychiatatrists are tellining s nonow that hatatred is a dangerous force,

not merely for the hated, but alsoso the hater. many of the e strange things that happen in thehe subconscio, mamany of the inner conflicts, are rooteded in hate. anand so they are sayingng, "love or perish.h." this is whwhy erich fromomm can wrwrite a book entitledd "the art of loving," arguguing that love is thehe sue unifying force of lilife. and d so it is wonderfrful to he a method of struggggle where it is possibible to stanap agagainst segrgregation, to stand up p against colonialim with all of yourur might, and yet not hate the perpetrators of these unjust systems. and i believe firmly that it is through this kind of powerful nonviolent action, this kind of love that organizes itself into massss action that we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation and the world into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

certainly, this is the great challenge facing us. now, i thihink that nonviolencee can workrk not only in the situauation that w we find in our countrtr, not only with the magnificent example that we have india expressesed through the marveles work o of mohandas k. gandhi, but i thinink it can wok in ways and in c circumstances that w we haven't seenen it or we haveven't used it befofor. and in this cocontext, i would like to sasay something ababout south africa. and i'd like t to read just a statement that i havave written here so that i'llll be sure that i'll s say everyththing that i have inin mind abouout the south african situation wiwithout missssing anything. i understand there are here tonight south afafricans,, some of whom have been involved in the long g struggle for freedom there. in our struggle for freedom and justice in the united states,

which has also been so long g and difficult, we feel a powerful sense of identification with those in ththe far more deadly struggle for freedom in south africa. we know how africans there, and their friends of other races, strove for half a century to win their freedom by nonviolent methods. we have honored chief lutuli for his leadership, and we know how this nonviolence was only met by increasing violence from the state, increasing repression, culminating inin the shootings at sharpeville and all ththat has happened sin. clearly, there is much in mississippi and alabama to remind the south africans of their own countryry. yet even in mississippi, we can organize to register negro voters.

we can speak to the press. we can, in short, organize the people in nonviolent action. but in south africa, even the mildest form of nonviolent resistance meets with years of imprisonment. and leaders over many years have been restricted and silenced and imprisoned. we can understand how in that situation people felt so desperate that thehey turned to other meththods, such as sabota. today, great leaders like nelson mandela and robert sobukwe are among the mamany hundreds wasting away in robben island prison. against a massive, armed and ruthless state, which uses torture and sadistic forms of interrogation to crush human beings, even driving some to suicide. the militant opposition inside south africa

seems for the moment to be silenced. the mass of the people seems to be contained, seems for the moment unable to break from the oppression. i emphasize e the word "seems" bebecause we can imagine whatat emotions d plplans mustst be seething below the calm surface of that prosperous police state. we know what emotions are seething in the rerest of afrir, anand indeed, all overer the wo. the dangers ofof a race war, of these dangers w we have had repeateded and profound warnini. it is in thihis situation, with t the great m mass of souh africans denied their humanity, their dignitity, denied opportunity, denied all humanan rights. it i is in this s situation, with many ofof the bravevest and bebest south a africans serving long y years in prison with some already execututed.

in this situtuation we i in amea and britain have a uninique responsibility. for it is we, through ouour investments, ththrough our governmentnts' fae to a dececisively, who are guiltyty of bolstering p the south afafrican tyranny. our reresponsibility -- [applause] rev. martin luther king,g, jr.: our responsibility presents us with a uniquque opportunity -- we can join in thehe one form of nonviolent acaction that could bring freedom and justice to south a africa, the action which afrfrican leads have appealeled for, in a massive movemenent for r economic sanctions.. inin a world l living under the apappalling g shadow of nuclear weaponsns, we e not recognizize the needd to perfect the use of economic pressures?

why is trade regegard byby all n nations and all idideologies as sacred? why does our g government and your government in b britain refuse t to intervene efeffectively now,w, as if only when there is a bloooodbath inin south africa- or a korea or a vietnam ---- will they recocognize a crisisi? if the united d kingdodom and te united statates decided tomorrow mornining not to buy south african goods, not to buy south african gold, to put an embargo on oil, our investotors and capitalis wowould withdraw t their suppot for r that raciatyranny that we fifind there, then apartheid would be brought to o an end. [applause] rev. martin luther king, jr.: then the majority

of south africans of all races could at last build the shared society they desire. and so this is a challenge facing the nations of the world. and god grant that we will meet this challenge and be a part of that great creative movement that will seek to bring about change and transform those dark yesterdays of man's inhumanity to man into bright tomorrows of justice and peace and goodwill. and may i say to you that the problem of racial injustice is not limited to any one nation. we know now that this is a problem spreading all over the globe. and right here in london and right here in england, you know so well that thousands and thousands of colored people are migrating here from many, many lands --

from the west indies, from pakistan, from india, from africa. and they have the just right to come to this great land, and they have the just right to expect justice and democracy in this land. and england must be eternally vigilant. for if not, the same kind of ghettos will develop that we have in the harlems of the united states. the same problems of injustice, the same problems of inequality in jobs will develop. and so i say to you that the challenge before every citizen of goodwill of this nation is to go all out to m make democracy a reality for everybody, so that everybody in this land will be able to live together and that allll men w will be abe to l live togethther as brototh. you know, there are certain words in every a academic discipline that soooon become ststereotypes and clicichés. every academicic discipline has its technical vocacabulary.

modern psychology has a woword that i is probablyly used more than any other word in modern psychology. it is the word "maladjusted." you've heard that word. this is the ringing cry of modern child psychology. and certainly we all want to live well-adjusted lives in order to avoid neurotic and schizophrenic personalities. but i must say to you this evening, my friends, as i come to a close, that there are some things in my own nation and there are some things in the world, to which i am proud to b be maladjusted and to which i call upon all men of goodwill to be maladjusted until the good society is realized. i must hononestly say to you that i never intend to become adjusted to segregation, discrimination, colonialism and these particular forces. i i must honestly say to you that i never intend to adjust myself to religious bigotry.

i must honestly say to you that i never intend to adjdjust myselflf to economic c conditions that will takeke necessities frfrom the many to give luxuries t to the few. 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 anand 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.n.

and i assure you that i will never adadjust to the madness o of militarisms. you see, it may wellll be that o our whole world is in need at this time for a a new organization -- the e international asassociatin for ththe advancement of creative maladjustment -- men and women n -- [applause] rev. martin luther king, jr.: men and women who will be as maladjusted as the prophet amos, who in the midst of the injustices of his day could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, "let justice roll down like wawaters and d righteteousness like a mighty stream." as maladjusted as the late abraham lincoln, the great president of our nation, who had the vision to see that the united states could not survive half-slave and half-free.

as maladjusted as thomas jefferson, who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery, could etch across the pages of history words lifted to cosmic proportions -- "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are crereated equa, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." as maladjusted as jesus of nazareth, who could say to the men and women of his day -- "he who o lives by t the sword will perish by the sword." and through such maladjustment, we will be able to emerge from the long and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice. may i say to you ththat i s still belieieve that mankind will rise up tohe o occasion. inin spite of the dadarkness of the hour, in spite of the difficulties of the moment,

in spite of these days of emotional tension when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail, i still have faith in the future and i still believe that we can build this society of brotherhood and this society of peace. we have a song that we sing in our movement, and we have joined hands to sing it so often, beyond/behind jail bars. i can remember times that we have been in jail cells made for 12 people, and yet you would find some 15 or 20 there, and yet we could go on and lift our voices and sing it. i mentioned it yesterday afternoon as i was preaching at st. paul's. "we shall overcome. we shall overcome. deep in my heart i do believe we shall overcome." and somehow i believe that mankind will overcome,

and i believe that the forces of evil will be defeated. i believe this because carlyle is right, "no lie can live forever." i believe that we shall overcome because william cullen bryant is right, "truth crushed to earth will rise again." i believe that we shall overcome because james russell lowell is right, "truth forever on the scaffold wronong forever on the throne. yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the then unknown standeth god within the shadow, keepeping watch above his own." with this faith, we will be able to adjourn the counsels of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. with this faith, we will be able to transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of peace and brotherhood. with this faith, we will be able to speed up the day when all of god's children --

black men and white men, jews and gentiles, prprotestants and catholicics, hindndus and muslims, ththeists and d atheists -- will be able to o join handsds and sing in the wordss of thehe old negro spiritualal, "free at l last! free at t last! thank gogod almighty, we are free at l last!" we have a long, longng way to go befofore this problem is s solv, but thank god we've made strides. we've come a long, long way,. before i close by quoting the words of an old negro slave preacher, who didn't quite have his grammar and diction right, but who uttered words of great symbolic profundity -- "lord, we ain't what we want to be. we ain't what we ought to be. we ain't whwhat we gonna be. but, thank god, we ainin't what we was." thank you. amy: dr. martin luther king, jr., speaking in london at city temple on december 7, 196464. he would receiveve the nobel peace prize

three days later in oslo, norway. becoming the youngest recipient of the prize. to see our video and audio podcast or read our transcripts, go to democracynow.org. i am amy goodman. thanks for joining us. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now!

welcome [inaudible] so. a study international -- democratic on intern a democratic institutions around t the world but it was bebecomingng increasingngly evident thahat the uniteded states w was becoming one of the more problematic democracies with the election of donald trump and the rise of populism and it was clear that this was not just an isolated phenomenon it was behind the brexit vote. you've got populace regimes now in hungary and poland and turkey you've got. anti immigration parties all over europe. and so i think this is a threat to democracy these populist parties