ABSTRACT
The United State's involvement in Vietnam dated back to the 1950s when it had supported the South Vietnam regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem as a Cold War imperative to prevent its takeover by communist North Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Initially, Martin Luther King chose to stay silent about the war in Vietnam since he feared that linking civil rights and anti-war issues would dilute the national impact of civil rights movement. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson had gradually committed more military personnel to bolster the South Vietnam regime. President Johnson set up a National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, which became known as the Kemer Commission, named after its chair, Governor Otto Kemer of Illinios. King's decisive turning point over Vietnam came in January 1967. As he was preparing to fly to Jamaica to work on his latest book he came across an article by William Pepper in Ramparts magazine about 'The Children of Vietnam'.
