By the time King made the Beyond Vietnam speech, Smiley tells host Neal Conan, he had fallen off already the list of most-admired Americans as tallied by Gallup every year. Smiley continues, it was the most controversial speech he ever gave. It was the speech he labored over the most. After King delivered the speech, Smiley reports, 168 major newspapers the next day denounced him. Not only that, but then-President Lyndon Johnson disinvited King to the White House. It basically ruins their relationship, says Smiley. This was a huge, huge speech, he continues, that got Martin King in more trouble than anything he had ever seen or done. Read More here: npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125355148
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 02:06:26 +0000