The Archive

Mrs. Watts submits a statement regarding a plot to assassinate Dr. King. She informs the FBI that a man named Jim Clark planned to kill Dr. King.

R. Belui thanks Dr. King for his courage in the fight for social justice. He also expresses his wishes for Dr. King's to be a presidential candidate.

This document contains the text of an address made by Vice President Nixon before the Automobile Manufacturers Association in New York.

Miss Dora McDonald informs Mrs. Edward Greaves that additional copies of Dr. King's sermon entitled "Paul's Letter to American Christians" are unavailable. She refers Mrs. Greaves to locate the sermon in Dr. King's newly released book "Strength to Love."

Dr. King writes that there is no way of defining the essential nature of spirit because it is manifested only in the activities of intellect, sensibility and will.

Dr. King offers his gratitude to Reverend Earl White for his participation in and support of the movement in Albany.

Dr. King expresses gratitude for his receipt of a kind letter and informs the recipient that their words of sympathy have endorsed great moral support.

Theodore E. Brown, the Director of the American Negro Leadership Conference on Africa, sends a letter with attached registration forms for the Third Biennial National Conference.

Governor Nelson Rockefeller encloses a contribution of $5,000 to the SCLC and discusses the forthcoming voter registration drive in which the SCLC will conduct.

In this letter Mr. Canfield Of Harper & Row, Publishers, informs Dr. King that a certificate of recognition from the National Conference of Christians and Jews for "Where Do We Go From Here?" is being sent to him as an award. Mr. Canfield expresses his belief the book will continue to sell.

In this brief note, Thomas Merton expresses gratitude to Ms. Tower for gifting him with Dr. King's new book. Merton, a contemplative monk, provides a statement possibly to appear as an endorsement of sorts and requests copies of the edition when it is made available.

Dr. King describes the period of the social gospel.

This Congressional Record documents a statement regarding the antipoverty bill. The statement, made to the public by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, urged Congress to support funding towards eradicating poverty for both black and white citizens.

Jay Richard Kennedy congratulates Dr. King on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He also comments on the importance of international recognition for the current struggle for equality.

This draft of Where Are We Going?, Chapter 5 of Dr. King's book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? was significantly edited before publication but the central ideas are here. The government's failure to develop economic justice programs cannot be blamed on the Civil Rights Movement's lack of ideas, as often claimed. Building the political will for change is more important for the movement. The rights of Negroes to economic well-being are well aligned with goals and tactics of the labor movement. Negro leadership needs to be developed from within the community.

Don Rothenberg, the Assistant to the Publisher of Ramparts Magazine, sent this letter to Dr. and Mrs. King with an advance copy of the January issue. The magazine, which was associated with the New Left, reported on the napalming of Vietnamese children in the war. Upon reading this, Dr. King was moved to become more vocal against the Vietnam War, which he later did, starting in April of 1967 with his "Beyond Vietnam" speech.

Bob and Betty Gates write Dr. King enclosing a contribution toward his work for freedom and better opportunities for African Americans. The Gates also ask Dr. King's opinion regarding the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Ragnar Forbech, Chairman of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), responds to a previous letter from Dr. King. Dr. King declined the invitation to speak at the IFOR Conference due to of his busy schedule, but Forbech notes from their earlier correspondence that Dr. King will keep his organization in mind for the future. Forbech also congratulates Dr. King on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dorothy Gaines provides Ruth D. Beyer with the address of the Montgomery Improvement Association due to the possibility of a check lost in the mail.

Walter Davis, Jr. encloses a donation to SCLC sent all the way from the Congo. Mr. Davis expresses, "Of particular interest to us is the way in which you and your organization are able to get the participation of many groups who are interested in justice and social reform."

Cass Canfield, of Harper and Row, requests for Dr. King to give commentary on Louis Lomax's book "The Negro Revolt."

Mr. Braem writes Dr. King emphasizing the importance of self-reliance. Braem list some issues that Civil Rights leaders should pay attention to such as education.

Dr. Benjamin Mays, President of Morehouse College, invites Dr. and Mrs. King to lunch after the Morehouse Board of Trustees Meeting.

The Chronicle Church Recorder for The Women of Detroit sends Dr. King a request for suggestions regarding the organization's upcoming demonstration against the "treatment of Negroes in Selma Alabama."

In this sermon, Dr. King states that "love is the key to the solution of the problems which we confront in the world today." Dr. King notes that this is not a simple task, but it is necessary.

Dr. and Mrs. King send condolences to Katie Harris upon the passing of Alphonso. The Kings remembered Alphonso as "a great and dedicated worker in the struggle for freedom and human dignity."

This New York Amsterdam News article by Dr. King introduces two unknown heroes of the Civil Rights Movement in the South, Esau Jenkins and Billy Fleming. Jenkins taught the riders on his buses how to read and write so they could qualify to vote. This idea was the basis for SCLC's Citizenship School program. Fleming, an undertaker in Clarendon County, South Carolina, was a leader in the Briggs v. Elliott school desegregation lawsuit, the earliest of five suits to be combined in the US Supreme Court?s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.

In this letter, Mr. Kinoy informs Dr. King of an article in Rutgers' Law Review, that contains Kinoy's and Bill Kunstler's ideas in civil rights litigation. Kinoy is a law professor at Rutgers The State University.

Dr. King thanks Brigitte Kirch for her encouraging letter.