WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)

Description

In this series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips from Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Georgia on April 30, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. criticizes the Vietnam War and praises Muhammad Ali for his stand as a conscientious objector. The clips begins with a series of silent shots showing the exterior of Ebenezer Baptist Church; inside the church, the camera focuses on the congregation and choir. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) leader Stokely Carmichael sits in the congregation wearing sunglasses. Dr. King, co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father, Martin Luther King, Sr., speaks from the pulpit. Sound begins as Dr. King comments about his hopes that young men who object to the war will seek conscientious objector status. He then praises Nation of Islam member Muhammad Ali for his stand against the war. The previous day in Houston, Texas, Muhammad Ali refused to accept induction into the military, was stripped of his boxing title by the sport's officials, and faced jail time for his refusal to serve. After a break in the clip and a brief silent view of the congregation, King calls upon "young men of America" to take a stand on the issue of the Vietnam War because "tomorrow may be too late." King's philosophy of nonviolence reached beyond the civil rights movement to include all social interactions. Like many civil rights workers, he was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and frequently urged audiences to pursue peace instead of violence.Title supplied by cataloger.IMLS Grant, 2008.Digibeta...

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia