Inconvenient History

As Mr. Peabody would say, it's time to take the wayback machine to the mid-60s.  Martin Luther King was at the apex of his career as a civil rights leader.   The MLK often quoted by white conservatives always preached non-violence and patience in the face of economic and social injustice.  However, many times during that period, leading up to his assassination in 1967, he did not condemn violence in the quest for justice.   He referred to riots as the speech of the powerless.  He also called for massive redistribution of political and economic power.  These quotes and the anger behind them are conveniently ignored by both right wing pundits and also by "centrist" democrats.  The simple fact is Baltimore and many other cities in America have been hollowed out by white flight and the wholesale shipment of manufacturing jobs overseas.  Those who remain in the central city are usually people of color without the means to leave.  40% unemployment with many if not most men sent to prison for drug offenses breeds the kind of hopelessness which can lead to violence when a precipitating incident occurs.   The death of Freddie Gray in police custody was the trigger for the riots in Baltimore, but it was not the cause.  50 years of broken promises and upward redistribution of wealth are the roots of this weeks anarchy.  We ignore these warning signs at our society's peril.