276

Martin Luther King, Jr

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:10,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
Martin Luther King, Jr

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Auction Date:2016 Mar 09 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
TLS, one page, 7.75 x 10.25, Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, July 31, 1964. Letter to David F. Seiferheld of New York, in full: “This letter comes to express my deep appreciation to you for your generous contribution of $100.00 to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Such moral and financial support are of inestimable value for the continuance of our humble efforts. Without your dollars for freedom, the Conference would be unable to work effectively towards its goal of the full integration of the Negro into all aspects of American life. Your contribution will help our work in communities all across the South. At present, SCLC has staff members in more than twenty communities seeking through nonviolent direct action and voter registration campaigns to break down the barriers of racial segregation and discrimination. Without your moral support we would be caught in a dungeon of despair without knowing that many people all over the nation are supporting us in our struggle. By aiding us in this significant way, you are telling the world that the rights of Negroes cannot be trampled in any community without impairing the rights of every other American. Thank you again for making our financial problem a little less burdensome. We are enclosing an official receipt for your contribution.” In fine condition.

The year 1964 proved a decisive turning point for the SCLC and Martin Luther King's campaign against segregation and racism in American daily life. Strong public support of King’s various marches and protests led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark legislative bill that would inevitably reward King with the Nobel Peace Prize later that year. King's movement, no longer confined to a local struggle with Southern apartheid, challenged all of America to ‘live out the true meaning of its creed.’ The recipient, David Seiferheld, served as treasurer of Varian Fry’s Emergency Rescue Committee, and assisted writers, artists, and intellectuals to flee Nazi-controlled Europe during World War II. He is also referenced in Robin Winks’s book, Cloak and Gown, as ‘a well-placed textile executive' who worked in the Office of Strategic Services.

Written during such a significant year in the Civil Rights movement and in his own career, this letter features wonderful content about King’s mission. An ideal example of this scarce format.