To Adam Clayton Powell
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: January 28, 1961
Location: Atlanta, Ga.?
Genre: Letter
Details
In the summer of 1960, Congressman Powell urged King to call off planned demonstrations at the national political conventions, fearing that the disruptions would jeopardize his nomination as chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. In this letter, King congratulates Powell as he assumes the chairmanship, but expresses regret that he is unable to attend a 29 January celebration in Powell’s honor.1
Adam Clayton Powell
Abysinnian Baptist Church
West 138th Street
New York
The Honorable 1Adam Clayton Powell:
I extend my sincere and harty congratulations on the occasion of this great tribute to the one clear voice that has sounded the accent of freedom for the past two and a half decades throughout the nation. Your unswerving dedication and loyalty without compromise to the civil rights struggle of the Negro people has been an inspiration to all Americans. I regret very deeply that I cannot be with you on this momentous occasion due to a long standing commitment in Chicago.2 My very best wishes for this memorable night and for the promise for the days that are ahead.
Very sincerely yours,
MLKJr
1. Nat Hentoff, “Adam Clayton Powell: What Price, Principal?,” Village Voice, 14 July 1960. Powell threatened that should the protests take place he would allege that King and Bayard Rustin were having a sexual relationship (see Introduction in Papers 5:31–32). In a 19 December 1960 letter, Angier Biddle Duke, chairman of the sponsoring committee for the Powell tribute, invited King to serve as honorary co-chairman of the committee, which King accepted (King to John Young, 27 December 1960).
2. On 29 January, King addressed the Chicago Sunday Evening Club (Chicago Sunday Evening Club, Program, “Chicago Sunday Evening Club,” 29 January 1961).
Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954–1968, Boston University, Boston, Mass.