This article focuses on the speech entitled "Beyond Vietnam," delivered by civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. in Riverside Church in New York City, on April 4, 1967, against the Vietnam War. Although some activists and newspapers supported King's statement, most responded with criticism. King's civil rights colleagues began to disassociate themselves from his radical stance, as the NAACP issued a statement against merging the civil rights movement and peace movement. King remained undeterred, stating that he was not fusing the civil rights and peace movements, as many had suggested. This article asks students to connect this speech to the present by having them consider which of King's ideas about America's role in the world are relevant today.