A Riot is the Language of the Unheard — Remembering the Words of MLK
As Minneapolis burns in response to the police murder of George Floyd, and incidents of arson and looting are reported, many are citing Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. to ask protestors to be calm and peaceful.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith from Minnesota wrote in a tweet:
Individuals on Facebook and social media wrote things like: “Dr. King would be ashamed,” or “Remember Dr. King.”
Make no mistake: King always stood by nonviolence as his preferred tactic for protest. But at the same time, and especially by 1967, King always contextualized the conditions in which violence by the downtrodden occurred.
These ideas of King are not often taught to us in school, or broadcasted on MLK Day.
Because they make us think. And allow us to see a shift in King where he advocated nonviolence, but understood and explained why Black people were resisting in other ways.
Two speeches in April 1967, ten days apart, show MLK differentiating clearly between the violence of the state, the police, and white supremacy and the violence of the oppressed.
