To Albany City Commission and Asa D. Kelley
Author: Anderson, William G.; King, Slater; King, Martin Luther, Jr.; Abernathy, Ralph
Date: July 17, 1962
Location: Albany, Ga.
Genre: Letter
Topic: Albany Movement
Details
A day after receiving a request from the Albany Movement for a meeting no later than 17 July to discuss the impasse in negotiations, Albany mayor Asa D. Kelley released a statement to the press on 16 July indicating that the City Commission would “not deal with Law Violators.”1 In the following telegram, the Albany Movement urges the mayor and City Commission to reconsider: “In the interest of democracy and the brotherhood of man, we earnestly implore you to join us in seeking reconciliation in our community.”
the city commission =
care mayor asa d kelley albany ga =
honorable sirs:
regret public press indicates you refuse to meet and talk with us. strongly urge that you reconsider and consent to conference. in the interest of democracy and the brotherhood of man, we earnestly implore you to join us in seeking reconciliation in our community. under separate cover we are forwarding to you the specific areas of discussion that are our deep concern.2
very truly yours =
dr w g anderson, slater king, martin luther king jr., ralph d abernathy
for the albany movement.
1. See “Albany Manifesto,” 15 July 1962, pp. 521–522 in this volume; Albany City Commission, Statement regarding special meeting with Albany Movement, 16 July 1962. On 17 July, Kelley told reporters that he would not participate in any negotiations that included King and Ralph Abernathy; however, “any local person, white or Negro, will always receive consideration from the City Commission” (“Albany Stalemate Develops between Dr. King, Officials,” Atlanta Daily World, 19 July 1962). In addition to Kelley, the Albany City Commission consisted of six members: James Buford Collins (1960–1971); T. H. McCollum (1962–1963); L. W. Mott (1959–1962); C. B. Pritchett (1959–1962); W. C. Holman (1962–1967); and Allen Fleming Davis (1961–1964). Asa Dempsey Kelley, Jr. (1922–1997), born in Albany, Georgia, earned a LL.B. from Emory University in 1943. For three years, Kelley worked as a judicial secretary and later taught at Atlanta Law School (1947–1948). After becoming a partner in two law firms, Kelley served in the Georgia State Senate (1957–1959) when he was elected mayor (1960–1964) and deputy assistant attorney general of Georgia (1959–1967). In 1967 Kelley was appointed director of the State Department of Corrections. After serving one year as director, he became a Superior Court judge in Dougherty County, a position he held for nearly three decades.
2. In addition to the telegram, Albany Movement officials may have sent a “Position Paper” on 17 July 1962, requesting the reopening of face-to-face negotiations with the City Commission, clarification of the city’s position on the 1 November ICC ruling, the desegregation of buses, the return of cash bonds to those arrested, and the establishment of a biracial commission to discuss a timetable for further desegregation in the city.
Source: DJG-GEU-S, David J. Garrow Collection, Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.