“A Time to Break Silence”; Tax Day Protest

What: On Tax Day, in commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s prophetic speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” multi-issue peace and justice activists will do three public, participatory readings of the speech in front of Oakland’s Federal Building.

When: There will be three readings, starting at 12 noon, 2 pm and 4 pm. Each reading will take approximately one hour, with 16 readers taking turns. A closing ceremony will follow the last reading.

Why: April 18 – 28, 2017 have been designated as Global Days of Action on Military Spending by the International Peace Bureau, to challenge military spending and call for redirection of funds to meet human needs. Military spending continues to increase, as the Trump Administration plans to strip $54 billion from human and environmental spending to increase already massive spending on the military. The plan raises Pentagon spending to well over 60 cents of every discretionary dollar in the U.S. budget. Endless U.S. wars and occupations have cost millions of lives and trillions of dollars, while the needs of growing numbers of Americans go unmet. Dr. King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech laid bare the relationship between U.S. wars abroad and the racism and poverty being challenged by the civil rights movement at home. “I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today–my own government.” King’s words are as relevant today as they were half a century ago. Organizers of the readings honor the full legacy of his work opposing the “triple evils” of militarism, racism and poverty. Tragically, Dr. King was assassinated exactly one year after delivering this speech.

This event is part of a year-long campaign launched by the National Council of Elders on the 50^th anniversary of King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech, and organized by Western States Legal Foundation.

Co-sponsors: Anti Police-Terror Project; Asian Americans for Peace & Justice; Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace & Justice; CodePink Golden Gate; East Point Peace Academy; Ecumenical Peace Institute/CALC; Fifth Stream Music; Idle No More SF Bay; Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area; Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center; Nafsi Ya Jamii (The Soul Community); National Council of Elders West; New Jim Crow Movement-Vallejo; Oakland Peace Center; OneLife Institute; Physicians for Social Responsibility- SF-Bay Area Chapter; Prevention at the Intersections; Tri-Valley CAREs; Women for Genuine Security; West County Toxics Coalition; Western States Legal Foundation; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, East Bay Branch; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, San Francisco Branch