"It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes. They are born of the greater crimes of the white society"

This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to the systemic racism and oppression of African Americans in the United States. He acknowledges that African Americans have actually committed crimes, but he argues that these criminal offenses are a result of the greater criminal activities of white society. He is saying that African Americans are not the source of the issue, but rather the victims of a bigger system of oppression. He is mentioning that the white society has created an environment in which African Americans are more likely to dedicate crimes, which this is an oppression that needs to be dealt with. He is calling for a modification in the way African Americans are dealt with, and for a more equitable society in which everybody is treated equally.