Martyrs to the Unspeakable: The Assassinations of JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK by peace activist and writer James Douglass.
In this timely and deeply researched work, Douglass connects four of the most consequential assassinations of the 1960s, arguing that leaders who made prophetic commitments to peace and social transformation were ultimately viewed as enemies of the state. He explores how these deaths were not isolated tragedies, but part of a larger effort to suppress a rising global movement for justice and peace.
Co-hosted by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, this conversation wrestles with the book’s central questions: What does this hidden history reveal about power, violence, and resistance—and how might recovering these stories help us continue the unfinished work of peace today?
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About the Book
Peace activist and writer James Douglass follows up his bestselling JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters with a new work connecting JFK’s death with three other earthshaking assassinations of the 1960s.
In Martyrs to the Unspeakable (Orbis Books, 2025), Douglass posits that American figures who made prophetic commitments to peace and social transformation were regarded as enemies of the state who had to be eliminated. He demonstrates how the template for JFK’s death was enacted in the deaths of Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Douglass believes this hidden history holds a key to recovering and advancing their mission and setting our country and the world on a path to peace.