On April 27, 1967, at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a commanding speech opposing the Vietnam War that reflected his broader vision of justice.

The bitter irony is not lost: Today, miles from where King spoke, Minneapolis has become the epicenter of our country’s most recent unrest — a stark reminder that we remain a nation on the verge of moral ruin, daily detaching from our history while ignoring those on the margins.

The White House has characterized Renee Good’s death as an unfortunate incident involving a rogue activist who failed to follow ICE directives. In death, Good has been maligned as a terrorist seeking chaos rather than recognized as an agent of change, an instrument of activism, a mother with compassion for neighbors living in fear of psychological, emotional and physical harm — fears that have intensified since her murder.

Unlike the official narrative, activists in Minneapolis and across the country have made clear that Good was not only murdered by an agent of the state — her death is a byproduct of the very root causes and structural forces King outlined in his Minnesota speech. That speech has been largely forgotten, dispatched to the annals of history, likely because King’s prophetic voice reminds us that we are a nation more often in reverse than in drive, choosing incremental solutions that benefit the few while rarely trickling down to the many.

Good is neither the first nor, unfortunately, the last victim of state-sanctioned violence. King spoke directly to this in 1967, particularly his stark reminder of the “three evils” plaguing America. We are trapped not only in moral bankruptcy but in a conundrum of unwillingness to solve complex problems with compassion for humanity — to invoke the law while treating citizens with kindness and care, understanding that the unheard deserve to come home safely just as much as those charged to protect them. No one should fear their protectors.

Good and the events in Minneapolis are not the thesis of this commentary — rather, it is the serendipitous acts occurring in this region and our penchant to hide truth. King’s prophetic speech, delivered mere minutes from what has become today’s epicenter, serves as the controlling irony of this moment.

We remain trapped in the matrix of King’s three evils:

Racism, extreme materialism, and militarism — the interconnected forces King identified as crippling American society and preventing genuine progress. We are involved in wars throughout the world while finding sick solace in ignoring healthcare costs, the siphoning of educational services, distorted housing costs, and our disregard for the unhoused and mental health needs.

Recently, the secretary of agriculture publicly stated that Americans can live on $3 a day for meals while we continue dumping billions into wars across the globe. As Tupac reminded us about war and priorities… “They got money for war, but can’t feed the poor.”

King spoke directly to northern inequality — the high Black unemployment, segregated schools, and systemic poverty in northern ghettos that laws did little to improve. Today we witness a structured apparatus penalizing blue states and communities. King’s genius prepared us to examine this moment, and his colleague Malcolm X reminded us why it’s important to understand the nuances and consequences of the ballot.

What we’re witnessing on our televisions and devices in Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, Boston and beyond are not riots — they are rebellions. Participants are channeling King’s least-sanitized voice, his most radical vision, a voice that cannot be drowned out by cynicism and fear of change.

King stated clearly: “Riots are the language of the unheard,” connecting urban unrest to systemic injustices. “Our summers of riots are caused by our winters of delay,” he warned, urging society to address root causes rather than symptoms.

We are in a moment of fragility, in desperate need of organized conciliation and common care for others regardless of political or ideological differences. It is time to channel King’s call to action. He urged a “true revolution” — a fundamental shift in values moving beyond mere dreams to actively challenge economic exploitation, racism and militarism, advocating for humanism over materialism.

King demanded that America be “born again,” moving from a “high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds.” As we honor King’s legacy, we must strive for what he called “God’s power and human power” — not just Black Power or White Power, but a power rooted in our common humanity and shared responsibility to one another.

The question before us is the same one King posed in 1967: Will we address the root causes of our discontent, or will we continue our winters of delay?

Tony Clark is a professor of African American literature and cultural studies at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston whose scholarship examines the nuanced complexity of Dr. King and his legacy.

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