On the Mindless Menace of Violence

"On the Mindless Menace of Violence" was a speech given by Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the City Club of Cleveland on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He sought to counter the riots and disorder emerging in the United States' cities, and address the growing problem of violence in American society. Kennedy gave no specific solutions, but called upon people to enact change in the future to bring peace.

Immediately following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 and his subsequent speech on the matter in Indianapolis, Senator Robert Kennedy suspended all of his Presidential campaign appearances and withdrew to his hotel room. After several phone conversations with black community leaders, he decided to speak out against the violent backlash to the assassination and carry forward with a scheduled appearance before the City Club of Cleveland. He also spoke with Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, offering his condolences and dispatching John Lewis and Earl Graves to retrieve King's body.

That night at the Marott Hotel, Kennedy hosted a meeting with 14 local black leaders. The meeting had been arranged before the assassination by aide James Tolan. The group had debated among themselves as to whether they should hold the meeting. Kennedy eventually arrived, and the conversation quickly turned heated as leaders began accusing him of being an unreliable member of "the white establishment." He lost his temper, saying, "I don't need all this aggravation. I could sit next to my swimming pool. You know, God's been good to me and I really don't need anything. But I just feel that if He's been that good, I should try to put something back in. And you all call yourselves leaders and you've been moaning and groaning about personal problems. You haven't once talked about your own people." The meeting ended with most attendees pledging their support to Kennedy's campaign.

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