“The words of John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.
I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”
-Martin Luther King Jr (April 4, 1967) [1]
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Something not well understood in the West about the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr was that in addition to fighting against the agonizing reality that is racism, he was also a devoted critic of America’s imperialist wars.
In April of 1967, a year to the day in advance of his assassination, Dr King was speaking to a huge audience at the Riverside Church in Manhattan, New York City. At this church, the beloved orator of hope, fellowship and crusader for the rights of Black people shocked a lot of listeners with his speech decrying the War in Vietnam, and ending the current trends of U.S. foreign policy generally. [2]
The man had strayed beyond a civil rights leader, so to speak, to entering into a much larger role, that of an antiwar activist. This stance ended up alienating white allies like President Lynden Johnson and Billy Graham as well as union leaders and major publishers. But it also moved and motivated several in the Columbia community and in Harlem. [3]
The story serves the purpose of witnessing links between racism against Black in America and wars and aggression committed against people living abroad who sit on material or other resources the elites covet. It is also witnessing a rise in the tradition of several black radicals including the membership in organizations like Black Agenda Report and Black Alliance for Peace in making the antiwar movement a fundamental piece of their overall approach to justice.
This subject and the associated need to decolonize our station and our audience encompasses the breadth of this week’s program on the Global Research News Hour. It is also the core of the station’s second edition of the CKUW Fundrive!
It features show host Michael Welch together with fellow station host Ras Rico discussing the subject of decolonization at length touching on Haiti, Angola, Cuba and other places in the cross-hairs of the U.S. Empire. We also allow cameos by Volunteer Coordinator Ugonna Chigbo and by Program Director Scott Price. We also talk about the station itself and encourage listeners to support it with a pledge. And we host musical numbers as well!
The drive has ended shy of its $60,000 goal. However, you are still encouraged to send whatever you can to the station at fundrive.ckuw.ca. (Please don’t use the number quoted repeatedly on air!)
As an alternative, direct your funds to the Global Research donation site, highlighting funding for the Global Research News Hour.
PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE A NOTE MENTIONING “GLOBAL RESEARCH NEWS HOUR” OR “GRNH” WITH YOUR TRANSACTION
Thanks again to our regular listeners who have given their all to keep this program going. It is most appreciated!
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The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM out of the University of Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca .
Other stations airing the show:
CIXX 106.9 FM, broadcasting from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. It airs Sundays at 6am.
WZBC 90.3 FM in Newton Massachusetts is Boston College Radio and broadcasts to the greater Boston area. The Global Research News Hour airs during Truth and Justice Radio which starts Sunday at 6am.
Campus and community radio CFMH 107.3fm in Saint John, N.B. airs the Global Research News Hour Fridays at 7pm.
CJMP 90.1 FM, Powell River Community Radio, airs the Global Research News Hour every Saturday at 8am.
Caper Radio CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia airs the Global Research News Hour starting Wednesday afternoon from 3-4pm.
Cowichan Valley Community Radio CICV 98.7 FM serving the Cowichan Lake area of Vancouver Island, BC airs the program Thursdays at 9am pacific time.
Notes:
- Martin Luther King’s 1967 Riverside Church Speech (JANUARY 17, 2011), Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence; http://www.listics.com/201101175996/
- https://bac.alumni.columbia.edu/50_years_ago_dr_king_at_riverside
- Dyson, Michael Eric (2008). “Facing Death”. April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.’s death and how it changed America. Basic Civitas Books
