To Alberta Williams King
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: October 1, 1948 to October 31, 1948?
Location: Chester, Pa.?
Genre: Letter
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Education
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Family
Details
Soon after entering Crozer Theological Seminary, King writes to his mother recounting experiences from his first months at school. He tells of his difficulty with assignments in Hebrew, probably referring to James Bennett Pritchard’s survey course on the Old Testament, one of King’s first classes at Crozer. King also reports on his relations with women friends and tells of dining often at the home of J. Pius Barbour, a family friend and pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Sunday Night
10:30
Dear Mother,
Your letter was received this morning. I often tell the boys around the campus I have the best mother in the world. You will never know how I appreciate the many kind thing you and daddy are doing for me. So far I have gotten the money (5 dollars) every week.
As to my wanting some clippings from the newspapers, I must answer yes. I wondered why I you hadn’t sent many, especially the Atlanta world.
You stated that my letters aren’t newsey enough. Well I dont have much news. I never go anywhere much but in these books. Some times the professor comes in class and tells us to read our [strikeout illegible] asignments in Hebrew, and that is really hard.
Do you know the girl I used to date at Spelman (Gloria Royster). She is in school at Temple and I have been to see her twice. Also I met a fine chick in Phila who has gone wild over the old boy. Since Barbor told the members of his church that my family was rich, the girls are running me down. Of course, I dont ever think about them I am to busy studying.
I eat dinner at Barbors home quite often. He is full of fun, and he has one of the best minds of anybody I have ever met.
I haven’t had time to contact any of your friends up this way. Maybe I will get to it pretty soon.
I hope you will explain to the members why I haven’t written any of them. I am going to write a letter to the entire church next week. It should be there by the forth {first} Sunday.
I hear from Christine every week.1 I try to answer her as regularly as possible. I hope she will somehow get adjusted to that accounting.
Rev. Ray was here Friday at the state convention. He told me to come up anytime I get ready. He is looking for you and dad in November.
Well I guess I must go back to studying. Give everybody my Regards.
Your son
[signed] “M. L.”
1. King’s sister, Christine, was in the first term of a master’s program in education at Columbia University in New York.
Source: CKFC, INP, Christine King Farris Collection, In Private Hands