Behind Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 visit to Stanford

Jan. 20, 2025, 12:17 a.m.

On April 14, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Stanford to deliver a speech entitled “The Other America.” The address focused on the injustice present in an America marked by racial inequality. Last week, the Institute for Advancing Just Societies hosted a screening of the 48-minute speech at Memorial Church as part of its annual King and Faith Symposium. 

The screening was followed by a panel discussion with Philip Taubman ’70 and director of Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Lerone Martin. Taubman, a freshman at the time, accompanied King to and from the airport and reported on the experience in an article for The Daily.

“We were thrilled when [Taubman] accepted our invitation to speak at this event to share his memories of Dr. King’s visit,” Martin said. “[His] reflections of those trying times are a resource for our students as they confront their own trying times.” 

Wednesday’s event has been in the making since last summer. Conversations between the Institute for Advancing Just Societies and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life resulted in the idea of screening King’s 1967 speech, which was chosen because many of its themes remain relevant in today’s world, according to Martin.

“Dr. King spoke at Stanford during a time of great societal upheaval and change, and the topics he addressed in the speech, including racism, economic inequality and war, remain relevant today,” Martin said. 

In November 1966, the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) invited King to give a sermon in Memorial Church. Six months later, King responded that he had the time to speak for one day on campus. Last week, his words returned to Memorial Church, this time projected onto a 16-foot-wide movie screen.

In his speech, King spoke of “two Americas”: one “overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity” that allows for its members to experience “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in all of their dimensions.” The other turning “the buoyancy of hope into the fatigue of despair.” 

He highlighted the efforts of the nonviolent protests that he heralded as part of the Civil Rights Movement, explaining that the demonstrations were “struggles to get rid of legal, overt segregation,” such as barriers to public accommodations and lunch counters, physical segregation on public transportation and denial of the right to vote. These efforts, King asserted, were just the beginning of a larger fight for “genuine equality,” which goes beyond combating measures that restricted the rights of Black individuals, but works towards true social integration of minority groups.

Also discussed in King’s remarks was the Vietnam War, which he stood against. King stated that domestic issues of civil rights should take precedence over the military industrial complex, which had been “brought to the forefront” during the war. King stated that the money funneled into the conflict would be better put to use in supporting equal housing and anti-segregation initiatives.

The connection of Stanford’s student body, which was predominantly white at the time, to the issue of civil rights was made evident by the audience’s reaction to King’s speech, according to Taubman.

“The first real applause came when [King] segued from civil rights to Vietnam,” Taubman said. “The reason for that is that the cause that motivated people at Stanford in those days was Vietnam.”

King concluded his speech with an appeal to equality and tolerance, stating that his hope is to “transform the jangling discords of [the United States] into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

According to Taubman, as Stanford students continue in a tradition of civic engagement, activism and social justice initiatives, King’s words still ring true in today’s world.

“What I found myself thinking as I was watching [King’s speech] again today was that so much of what he said applies to the United States of America today,” Taubman said. “This was almost 60 years ago, and so many of the things that he described — the injustices, the inequalities — they remain today.”

Taubman advises current Stanford students who are passionate about advocacy and current events to make actionable demands while protesting, and to do so in a nonviolent manner.

“King’s message was that these issues should matter to you, you should get engaged with them and you should commit yourself to rectifying these disparities,” Taubman continued. “Part of the reason he came to Stanford was to carry his cause to universities.”

To conclude Wednesday’s event, Taubman read aloud the article he wrote for The Daily about his time spent interviewing King in the car to and from the airport.

“If you’re ever in need of an interesting companion for the ride from San Francisco Airport to Stanford, try Dr. Martin Luther King,” Taubman’s article wrote.

Remembering that experience allowed him to reflect on what remains one of his formative experiences, he said.

“I was pleasantly surprised, because the meeting that I had with Dr. King was almost 60 years ago and it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind, and out of the blue I suddenly got an invitation to come and talk about this amazing experience I had,” said Taubman. “It’s allowed me to revisit that experience in a way that I hadn’t for a long time.”

Sofia Williams is a news writer for The Daily. Contact news 'at' stanforddaily.com.

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