EPISODE 9: THE WAR ## CHAPTER 1: THE SILENCE For years, Martin had been silent about Vietnam. His advisors urged caution. The civil rights movement needed the Johnson administration's support. Speaking out against the war would alienate the president, endanger pending legislation, fracture the coalition that had achieved so much. "Stay in your lane," they told him. "Civil rights is your issue. Let others handle foreign policy." Martin tried. He made vague statements about preferring negotiation to escalation. He avoided direct criticism. He maintained relationships with administration officials who were implementing civil rights legislation even as they expanded the war. But the silence ate at him. "How can I tell people to remain nonviolent at home while my government drops bombs on children overseas?" he asked Coretta. "How can I preach the gospel of Jesus and ignore what we're doing in Vietnam?" "The movement—" she began. "The movement is supposed to be about justice. Not just for Black Americans. For everyone. If I stay silent about injustice in Vietnam, what does my witness mean?" By 1967, the silence had become unbearable. --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE DECISION The turning point came when Martin saw the photographs. Ramparts magazine published images of Vietnamese children burned by napalm—American napalm, dropped by American planes, in an American war. The charred bodies, the...