Sold – King Thanks the President of the Baltimore NAACP for “your interest in the whole cause of fre

In 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to take a seat at the back of the bus. As a means of protest against such segregation, the Montgomery Improvement Association was organized on December 4, 1955 and King was elected its president. The next day the boycott was started. As it continued the white community and its law enforcement agencies fought back. Blacks waiting on street corners for a ride were arrested for loitering, car-pool drivers were arrested for picking up hitchhikers, and the boycotters were harassed and threatened. On January 30, 1956, King’s home was bombed. His wife and their baby daughter escaped without injury. When King arrived home he found an angry mob waiting. Dr. King told the crowd to go home, saying "We must learn to meet hate with love."

The boycott continued for over a year and it took the U.S. Supreme Court to end it. On November 13, 1956, the Court declared that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. On December 20, federal injunctions were served on the city and bus company officials forced them to follow the Supreme Court’s ruling. The following morning, December 21, 1956, King and Rev. Glen Smiley, a white minister, shared the front seat of a public bus. The boycott had lasted 381 days and proven a great success. It marked the start of the Civil Rights movement and was the first of its major victories. It also catapulted its leader, Rev. King, to national prominence.

An early activist, Lillie M. Jackson served as president of the Baltimore NAACP from 1935-1970 and was a member of that organization’s National Board of Directors. During her tenure, the Baltimore branch initiated history-making legal cases that challenged the constitutionality of segregation in education, employment, and public accommodations. The University of Maryland was integrated.  Blacks entered the police force, movie theaters and other institutions, accommodations were picketed and integrated, and public pools, parks, and civil service jobs were opened to blacks for the first time.

Mrs. Jackson was anxious for the new young Civil Rights leader, Rev. King, to speak to her branch in Baltimore, and invited him to do so in late 1956. But King was overwhelmed with responsibilities in managing the boycott and then dealing with the Supreme Court’s decision and its repercussions. His new role as leader also resulted in many more invitations than he could handle. The very day that the federal injunctions were served on Alabama officials, King found it necessary to  postpone accepting Jackson’s invitation, while praising her commitment to freedom and civil rights.

Typed Letter Signed on his Montgomery Improvement Association letterhead, Montgomery, Alabama, December 20, 1956, to Mrs. Jackson. “Thanks again for your very kind letter of December 3, again inviting me to address the Baltimore branch of the NAACP…After checking my calendar, I find I have accepted as many speaking engagements as my schedule will allow….I am sure by now you are concluding that I am the most evasive person in the world, as well as the hardest person to get to accept an engagement. I hope, however, that you will understand that my non-acceptance is not due to a lack of interest but to commitments of long standing. It would be a real pleasure for me to come to the Baltimore branch, for I have always heard of it as being one of the great branches of America, and I have watched with pride the great leadership you have given. Moreover, I have known of the work of your whole family. Every American of good will is proud of the contribution that the Jackson family has rendered in the quest for civil rights…As I look over my calendar, I find that the only time I could possibly be available would be in the Fall of 1957. The months of September and October are relatively free months. If you feel that this is not too far off for you, I would appreciate a letter immediately and I will find a date on my calendar. Again, let me express my appreciation to you for your interest in me and your interest in the whole cause of freedom. You have my prayers and best wishes for continued success in the great work that you are doing.” King was frank in saying he was busy. The next morning he personally integrated the Montgomery bus system. Nowadays very few letters of King of this quality reach the market, and this is our first on his historic Montgomery Improvement Association letterhead.