At MLK Day event in LA, Civil Rights leader's 1967 speech still has 'incredible relevance'

The words were spoken by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967. But for those listening to a recording in 2026 at the California African American Museum, they still felt fresh.

“When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are incapable of being conquered,” King said in “The Three Evils of Society,” his keynote address at the 1967 National Conference on New Politics in Chicago.

Cameron Shaw, executive director of the Exposition Park museum, told LAist on Monday that the speech has “incredible relevance to the political and social moment and what we’re going through as a people today.”

The playing of the speech was part of the program the California African American Museum created for its annual “King Day” event, held on the federal holiday that honors the legacy of the Baptist preacher whose nonviolent protests and eloquent speeches helped shift American attitudes about race in the 1960s and beyond and lead to landmark Civil Rights legislation.

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In a brief discussion after the speech, museumgoers shared their thoughts on King’s words. One attendee spoke about the need to interrogate racism as a systematic ill, not just as one-off acts. Another commented on the importance of standing up to injustice.

Shaw says the museum’s celebration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day has evolved over the last several years, but one of the main throughlines she sees is the continued message of “speaking truth to power.”

“When we celebrate Dr. King today, we celebrate all of the folks past and present who have been brave enough to speak truth to power,” Shaw said. “That is something we truly need.”

Monday’s event also featured a faux stained glass workshop inspired by an exhibition at the museum on architect Amaza Lee Meredith. The Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles will also perform a tribute concert.

The museum’s King Day event was one of several celebrating the Civil Rights leader this weekend in L.A.