The Trumpet of Conscience

In November and December 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered five lectures for the renowned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Massey Lecture Series. The collection was immediately released by the CBC under the title Conscience for Change, but after King’s assassination in 1968, the book was republished by Harper & Row asThe Trumpet of Conscience.

Each oration found here encompasses a distinct theme and speaks prophetically to today’s perils, addressing issues of racial equality, conscience and war, the mobilization of young people, and nonviolence. In addition, this attractive gift package includes the original audio recording of King delivering two of the lectures, “Conscience and the Vietnam War” and “A Christmas Sermon on Peace”—the latter a powerful, concluding speech that was a live broadcast of his 1967 Christmas Eve sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church. These orations illustrate how King never lost sight of our shared goals for justice.

Coretta Scott King (1927–2006), the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., was an author and a human rights activist. She helped lead the civil rights movement after King’s assassination, carrying the message of nonviolence and the dream of a beloved community to many countries and spearheading civil rights coalitions and foundations.

Distinguished author and civil rights lawyer Marian Wright Edelman has been a lifelong advocate for disadvantaged Americans and is the president of the Children’s Defense Fund.