Vietnam, Levison congratulated him. Levison was pleased with the publicity King's speech received, commenting that King's appearance on a panel with four United States Senators was the appropriate occasion for him to express his antiwar sentiments.
Over the years, a number of individuals who have been employed at one time or another by The Nation in editorial and writing capacities have been identified with the communist movement.
Riverside Church Speech
In early April, 1967, King accepted an invitation to speak before the group, "Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam." This is an interdenominational committee formed to mobilize religious opinion against the war.
Prior to this speech, King and Andrew Young, Executive Director of SCLC, spent approximately eight hours in conference with King's top advisors in New York, New York. Stanley Levison and Harry Wachtel were present at this conference.
Later that same day, King spoke at the Riverside Church, New York, New York. Before this group, at which time he was highly critical of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam war. He referred to the United States Government as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." He proposed a five-step process to extricate the United States from this conflict. Comments in the news media coverage of King's remarks pointed out that the five points are similar in concept to the conditions imposed by North Vietnam as a prerequisite to negotiations. It is interesting to note that King's proposals parallel the propaganda line which the Communist Party, USA, has been projecting regarding the war in Vietnam.
Spring Mobilization
At a conference in the Fall of 1966, of the Peace Mobilization Committee, it was tentatively decided to hold massive peace demonstrations on April 15, 1967, in New York City and San Francisco, California. Of the one hundred seventeen individuals in attendance, seventy-five were members of the
