Fifty-five years ago, on April 4, 1967, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a powerful speech titled “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” This historic speech called its first audience to take action to eradicate racism, militarism, and poverty. Exactly one year later, Rev. Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. But the words of this speech, as with so much of his work, continue to resonate and impact us today.

On the anniversary of Rev. Dr. King’s “Breaking the Silence” speech, groups and organizations are encouraged to host local readings of this historic speech. On April 4 at noon, you are invited to watch the premiere of a video of a reading of the speech produced by the North Carolina Conference. Clergy and laity from around our Conference will share in the reading of the speech. The video will be available on the NC Conference app and the website. If you cannot watch the video’s premiere, it will be available for later viewing.

We hope you will take an opportunity to hear these powerful and challenging words from Rev. Dr. King, shared by sisters and brothers from across our connection. You can also visit our Anti-Racism page to learn more about how our North Carolina Conference is working to dismantle racism.