On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, we urge folks to reflect on King's actions and the challenges that remain. Forty years later, racism--both institutional and otherwise--is still at the core of American society. Moreover, the other evils of the United States government identified by King--materialism and militarism--continue to oppress people within the United States and around the globe.

Below is King's "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" speech in which he outlined his opposition to the Vietnam War:

We also urge folks to read King's final speech, "I've been to the Mountaintop" to help understand the evolution of King's thought. While the media and our history books present a sanitized version of King, the reality is that by the time of his death King was challenging the economic structures on which the US is built and attempting to develop a multiracial movement across class lines for economic justice.