“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world : My own Government, I can not be Silent.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Martin Luther King, Jr. 658

American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Ci… 1929–1968

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“I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed, without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government.”

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“The principal instances of mass violence in the world today are those committed by governments within their own legally recognized borders. Can we really say there is no response to this?”

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Context: I venture to claim two qualifications for the great office which I hold, which to my mind, without making invidious distinctions, is one of the most important that can be held by any Englishman; and those qualifications are that in the first place I believe in the British Empire, and in the second place I believe in the British race. I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen.