As long as justice is postponed we always stand on the verge of these darker nights of social disruption ... The contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say that a riot is the language of the unheard.

In his speech on March 14,1968, just three weeks before he was assassinated, Dr. King addressed fears of a forthcoming summer of riots like those that consumed Newark, New Jersey, Detroit and other black inner cities in 1967.