Lockheed-Martin - Valley Forge

Dr. King was remembered as a seeker of non-military global justice during the annual King Day vigil and demonstration outside Lockheed Martin offices in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. As vigilers arrived and wrote messages of peace on a large banner, excerpts from King's sermons and speeches were broadcast. A bell was tolled to gather the group, as excerpts from his April 4, 1967 speech at New York's Riverside Church, "A Time to Break Silence," were read. This turning-point speech, delivered one year to the day before his assassination, linked the civil rights struggle with the contemporary peace movement, and called for nonviolent resistance to "the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism."

A litany was read, calling Lockheed Martin to account in response to selected quotes of Dr. King. Following the litany, ten people attempted to deliver the banner to the front door of the world's largest war merchant. Police blocked their path, and they were arrested. All were cited and released, unlikely to face further prosecution.