Albany Jail Diary from 27 July–31 July 1962
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: July 27, 1962 to July 31, 1962
Location: Albany, Ga.
Genre: Published Article
Topic: Albany Movement
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Arrests
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Family
Voter registration
Details
On 27 July, King and nine others marched to Albany City Hall to pray and request a meeting with the City Commission. After refusing an invitation by Chief Pritchett to talk privately in his office, the protesters were arrested.1 During his incarceration, King kept a handwritten diary. In the following excerpt, published on 23 August in Jet magazine, King writes of his commitment to remain in jail. From his cell, King formulates strategy for continued demonstrations in Albany with SCLC executive director Wyatt Tee Walker. He instructs Walker to scale back the large demonstrations in favor of smaller ones because “there is so much tension in the town.” Before heading to J. Robert Elliott’s courtroom to hear oral arguments about the injunction placed on demonstrations in Albany, King confers with his lawyers C. B. King and Donald Hollowell about the importance of waging a four-pronged “battle” to end segregation in Albany through the courts, demonstrations, economic boycotts, and a voter registration campaign.
Friday, July 27—Ralph Abernathy and I were arrested again in Albany at 3:15 p.m. (for the second time in July and the third time since last December.) We were accompanied by Dr. W. G. Anderson, Slater King, the Rev. Ben Gay and seven ladies. This group held a prayer vigil in front of the City Hall, seeking to appeal to the City Commission to negotiate with leaders of the Albany Movement. When we arrived at the City Hall, the press was on hand in large numbers and Police Chief Laurie Pritchett came directly over to us and invited us into his office. When we declined, he immediately ordered us arrested.2
Around 9 p.m., one of the officers came to the cell and said Chief Pritchett wanted to see me in his office. I responded suspiciously, remembering that two weeks ago, we were summoned to Pritchett’s office, only to discover that we were being tricked out of jail. (A mysterious donor paid the fine, $178 for each of us.)3 Today, we were determined that this would not happen again. So, I told the officer that Pritchett would have to step back to our cell. The officer reacted very bitterly, but he apparently got the message to Pritchett because the Chief came immediately and said: “Come on, Doctor. I am not trying to get you to leave. There is a long-distance call for you from a man named Spivak.”
The call turned out to be Lawrence Spivak from Meet The Press TV program. I was scheduled to be on the program, Sunday, July 29. He was very upset and literally begged me to come out on bond. I immediately called Atty. (C. B.) King and the Rev. Wyatt Walker, my assistant, to the jail and sought their advice. We all agreed that I should not leave and suggested that Dr. Anderson, president of the Albany Movement, get out on bond and substitute for me. Dr. Anderson agreed and I decided to remain in jail.4
Saturday, July 28—I was able to arrange with Chief Pritchett for members of my staff to consult with me at any time. We held our staff meetings right there in jail. My wife, Coretta, also came to see me twice today before returning to Atlanta.
When Wyatt came to the jail, I emphasized that more demonstrations must be held with smaller numbers in front of the City Hall instead of large marches because there is so much tension in the town.
A little while after I talked with Wyatt, 15 more demonstrators were arrested as they appeared before City Hall and they all came in the jail singing loudly.5 This was a big lift for us. This group was immediately shipped out to another jail in the state.
Later, that day, Pritchett came and asked me to leave jail for good. He said that someone had actually sent the cash money for my bond and technically he could make me leave. I told him I certainly did not want to be put in the position of being dragged out of jail, but that I had no intention of leaving because I wanted to serve my sentence. (Rep. John Lamula, a New York Republican, sent bond money for Dr. King, but later turned the funds over to the Albany Movement.)6
Pritchett told us: “You don’t know how tense things are, do you? Do you know what happened?” When we said no, he replied: “Somebody almost busted C. B. King’s head wide open.” It sounded horrible and we became excited. I asked him who and he said calmly: “the sheriff over in the County Jail.”7 I immediately sent for Wyatt and asked him to send a telegram to the President and to call Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy and the Burke Marshall of the Justice Dept.8 I told them I was very much concerned about this kind of brutality by law enforcement agencies and that something had to be done.
Sunday, July 29—Everything was rather quiet this morning. We had our regular devotional services among all the prisoners. I read from the Book of Job. We hold services every morning and evening and sing whenever we feel like it. Since only Ralph and I are in a cell together, we can’t see the other prisoners, but we can always hear them. Slater is two cells away. Marvin Rich, Ed Dickenson and Earl Gorden (some white demonstrators) are across the hall in another cell block but they join us in services.9 After devotion, I started reading some of the books I had with me.
They brought us the usual breakfast at 8 o’clock. It was one link sausage, one egg and some grits, two pieces of bread on a tin plate with a tin cup of coffee.
We were astonished when the jailer returned at 10 minutes after 10 this morning with a plate of hash, peas and rice and corn bread. He said it was supper and the last meal we were going to get that day because the cook was getting off early. Soon, the Rev. Mr. Walker came over with Dr. Roy C. Bell from Atlanta and Larry Still, a writer from Jet. Roy inspected Ralph’s teeth and said he would arrange with Chief Pritchett to get us some “food packages.” I told him this was needed because we would starve on the jail house food. The Albany Jail is dirty, filthy and ill-equipped. I have been in many jails and it is really the worse I have ever seen.10
Monday, July 30—I spent most of the day reading and writing on my book on Negro sermons before our hearing in Federal court started.11 The heat was so unbearable, I could hardly get anything done. I think we had the hottest cell in the jail because it is back in a corner. There are four bunks in our cell, but for some reason, they never put anybody in with us. Ralph says everytime we go to the wash bowl we bump into each other. He is a wonderful friend and really keeps our spirits going. The food seemed to be worse than usual today. I could only drink the coffee.
I talked with Wyatt and he told me the demonstrations were still going as planned. We soon heard about them because they brought in about 15 more they had arrested.12 We were then told to get ready to go to court to begin the hearing on the city’s request for a Federal injunction against the demonstrations. I was informed that Atty. Connie [Constance Baker] Motley was here from the New York office of the NAACP and I was very happy. Lawyers [C. B.] King and Donald L. Hollowell of Atlanta came to see me before the hearing started. We discussed how the Albany battle must be waged on all four fronts. A legal battle in the courts; with demonstrations and kneel-ins and sit-ins; with an economic boycott and, finally, with an intense voter registration campaign. This is going to be a long summer.
Tuesday, July 3013—I was very glad to get to court today because I had a chance to see my wife and my friends and associates who are keeping the Albany Movement going. I also had chance to consult with Wyatt during the recesses. He told demonstrations were going on while we were in court and that some of the youth groups led by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee were testing places like drug stores and drive-ins and motels.14
Later, my father came to me with the Rev. Allen Middleton, head of Atlanta’s SCLC chapter, I was happy to hear that my mother has adjusted to my role in the Albany Movement.15 She understood that I still had to remain in jail as long as necessary. I told dad to invite some preachers in to help him carry on the church, but he told me: “As long as you carry on in jail, I’ll carry on outside.”
1. Among the nine arrested with King were Abernathy, Anderson, Albany Movement vice president Slater King, Albany Movement chaplain Benjamin Gay, and five women—Emma Lou Louketis, Betty William, Gloria Courtney, Evelyn Toney, and Alvonia Dorsey. All were charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey an officer, and congregating on the sidewalk. After King’s arrest, a second wave of demonstrators, led by Charles Jones, marched to city hall, where eighteen more protesters were arrested (Bill Shipp, “King, 27 Others Jailed for Prayer-Protests at Albany’s City Hall,” Atlanta Constitution, 28 July 1962; J. Edgar Hoover, Memo to Robert F. Kennedy regarding the racial situation in Albany, Georgia, 28 July 1962, Bureau File 157–6–2–513). According to a newspaper report, the day before the demonstrations, King called Albany mayor Asa Kelley requesting a meeting between city officials and African American leaders. Kelley told King he “would not consider such a request as long as he and other outsiders are still in the city.” King replied that if his presence prevented negotiations he would consider leaving Albany (“Mayor of Albany Says U.S. Official Asked About Friday Arrests,” Atlanta Daily World, 28 July 1962).
2. Just prior to their arrest, King asked Abernathy to lead the group in prayer: “We pray, O God, that Thou will touch the hearts of the leaders of this city and have them to know that there will be no peace in this community until those elected to higher office will rise to stature and through the understanding that they will be willing to sit down and to talk and to discuss their problems with the leaders of the Negro people of this community. We pray that our, those of us who keep this vigil, this prayer vigil here at city hall, may have our hearts fixed aright and let there be no hate or animosity in our hearts. And may we be willing to go with Thee all the way, to take up our cross and to follow after Thee. Bless Dr. Anderson, our spokesman. Bless Dr. King, our leader. Bless Reverend Gay, and all of those who have now participated in this” (Abernathy and King, Prayer vigil and arrests at Albany, Ga., City Hall, 27 July 1962).
3. For more on King’s release from jail, see Press Release, King and Abernathy Choose Jail Time over Fine, 10 July 1962, and King, Address Delivered at Mass Meeting at Shiloh Baptist Church, 12 July 1962, pp. 510–511 and pp. 518–520 in this volume, respectively. According to William G. Anderson’s autobiography, it was later revealed that B. C. Gardner, a law partner of Mayor Asa Kelley, paid the bond for King and Abernathy’s release (Norma L. Anderson and William G. Anderson, Autobiographies of a Black Couple of the Greatest Generation [n.p.: privately printed, 2004], p. 220).
4. Anderson posted a $400 property bond and appeared on “Meet the Press” on 29 July 1962.
5. Thirty-seven demonstrators were arrested on 28 July for picketing and staging a kneel-in at city hall (Vic Smith, “Sheriff Campbell Whacks C. B. King; Protesters Jailed,” Albany Herald, 29 July 1962).
6. Lamula, an assistant clerk for the New York Assembly, raised the initial bail money for King’s 12 July arrest by asking Poughkeepsie, New York, residents to contribute one dollar each. After an anonymous donor paid the bail, Pritchett returned the money, and Lamula, who believed King’s effort in Albany was “the most important social issue of our generation,” forwarded it to SCLC with another two hundred dollar contribution (Lamula to King, 19 July 1962; King to Lamula, 22 August 1962).
7. Soon after King’s arrest on 27 July, SNCC workers Charles Jones and William Hansen led fourteen teenagers on a prayer vigil and were themselves arrested and jailed. According to Hansen, he was attacked by police and suffered a fractured jaw. News of Hansen’s injuries reached attorney C. B. King, who went to Dougherty County sheriff D. C. Campbell’s office to obtain medical relief for Hansen. Campbell told King to leave his office, and, after King refused, Campbell then hit him over the head with a walking cane, causing a cut in his forehead that required eight stitches. Campbell claimed that King was “interfering with business in the office” (Claude Sitton, “Dr. King Is Jailed Again at Prayer Rally in Georgia,” New York Times, 28 July 1962; Bill Shipp, “3 Albany Negroes Protest in Prayer,” Atlanta Constitution, 30 July 1962; “Sheriff Says He Struck Negro Who Interfered,” Los Angeles Times, 30 July 1962).
8. Walker sent a telegram to movement supporters asking them to contact Pritchett, President Kennedy, Attorney General Kennedy, Mayor Asa D. Kelley, and Governor S. Ernest Vandiver about the “in humane and insufferable” jail conditions and the violation of the protesters’ First Amendment rights (Walker to Supporters, 28 July 1962). Several responded to Walker’s request, including Roy Wilkins, James Farmer, and Congressional leader Robert N. C. Nix (Wilkins to John F. Kennedy, 30 July 1962; Farmer to John F. Kennedy, 29 July 1962; Nix to Vandiver, 31 July 1962). For a list of additional supporters who sent letters to government officials, see note 3, Seay to King, 1 August 1962, p. 566 in this volume. Walker also made a call to the leaders of the Western Christian Leadership Conference requesting help coordinating West Coast prayer vigils in support of King and the others arrested. Vigils were staged at city halls in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Fresno, and other locals (WCLC, Press release, Western Christian Leadership Conference calls for nation-wide public prayer demonstration, 30 July 1962; “Rev. King Trial Set for Friday,” Los Angeles Sentinel, 9 August 1962; “Prayer Vigil,” Fresno Bee, 31 July 1962).
9. Rich (1929– ), community relations director for CORE, arrived in Albany on 24 July after receiving William G. Anderson’s request for a CORE representative. He was arrested leading a demonstration the night of his arrival (CORE, Minutes, “Steering committee of the National Action Council,” 28 July 1962). Dickerson (1941– ), from Cambridge, Maryland, had participated in local demonstrations earlier that year.
10. Bell (1926–2011), a dentist, was also Special Projects Director of Atlanta’s local chapter of SCLC in 1962 and participated in efforts to desegregate Atlanta’s Grady Hospital and the American Dental Association. Still (1923–2001), an associate editor at Jet magazine, described King’s jail conditions in a feature article (“Courts Take Time, We Want Freedom Now—Albany Leaders,” Jet, 16 August 1962).
11. In 1957 King discussed producing a book of sermons with Harper Brothers publishing house, but his commitments to the Montgomery Improvement Association and SCLC made it impossible for him to complete the manuscript before 1962. King’s book, titled Strength to Love, was published in 1963. For more on Strength to Love, see Introduction in Papers 6:35–44. King refers to the hearing scheduled to determine if Judge J. Robert Elliott’s injunction against the Albany Movement would be made permanent.
12. On the night of 30 July, sixteen protesters led by Albert L. Dunn, a student at the Interdenominational Theological Seminary in Atlanta, were arrested while singing and praying in front of city hall. Nearly 300 protesters were arrested during the month of July (Hedrick Smith, “Dr. King Set Back in U.S. Court Test,” New York Times, 31 July 1962).
13. This entry was erroneously dated 30 July instead of 31 July.
14. While court was in session, thirty-nine demonstrators conducted prayer protests in front of Carnegie Public Library and city hall in Albany. All thirty-nine demonstrators were arrested (Bill Shipp, “39 More Negroes Jailed in 3 Protests at Albany City Hall and Library,” Atlanta Constitution, 1 August 1962). Additionally, SNCC executive secretary James Forman was arrested along with four students after attempting to integrate three Albany stores and the local Holiday Inn, while field secretary Charles Jones organized demonstrations against lunch counters and the city’s swimming pool (“Jail SNCC Leader in Albany, Ga.,” Chicago Daily Defender, 7 August 1962; Claude Sitton, “Negroes Rally in Albany, Ga.; 80 Driven from a Public Pool,” New York Times, 19 July 1962).
15. King refers to John Albert Middleton (1914–1975), pastor of Allen Temple AME Church of Atlanta from 1956 to 1965 and president of Morris Brown College from 1965 to 1973. From 1962 to 1967 Middleton served as president of the Atlanta chapter of SCLC.
Source: Jet, 23 August 1962, pp. 14–21.