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Brailsford R. Brazeal to Charles E. Batten

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Author: Brazeal, Brailsford R. (Morehouse College)

Date: March 23, 1948

Location: Atlanta, Ga.

Genre: Letter

Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Education

Details

Brazeal, dean of men at Morehouse College, notes that King and another student (whose name was deleted for reasons of privacy) have “developed considerably” as undergraduates and that they will “mix well interracially.”1

Dean Charles E. Batten
Crozer Theological Seminary
Chester, Pennsylvania

Dear Dean Batten:

Your letter to President B. E. Mays about Mr. M. L. King and [name deleted] who are seniors at Morehouse College has been referred to my office for consideration because Dr. Mays is out of the city.

I regret that I can not at the moment let you know just where Messrs. King and [name deleted] rank in relationship to the other members of the senior class because we are not able to compile the list until the end of the present semester. We have checked on the record of each one of the men involved. Mr. King has a quality point average of 2.48 which is virtually midway between a “C” and a “B” average. [sentence deleted] I might state that these two young men have developed considerably since beginning their studies at Morehouse College. They had to work hard in order to overcome a comparatively weak high school background. I believe that Mr. King has succeeded in doing this to a slightly greater degree than has [name deleted]. I believe that these young men will be able to take care of themselves scholastically and otherwise if they are given a chance to study at Crozer Theological Seminary, and I also believe that they will mix well interracially.

I am glad to recommend these applicants for the serious and favorable consideration of the Committee on Admissions. If you desire additional information about these young men please let me know.

With every kind wish, I am

Yours sincerely,
[signed as below]
B. R. Brazeal

BRB/g

1. Brailsford Reese Brazeal (1905–1981) received his B.A. from Morehouse College, graduating with honors in 1927. He earned an M.A. from Columbia University and became academic dean and professor of economics at Morehouse in 1928. After he received his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia in 1942, Brazeal revised his dissertation for publication as The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (1946). King took one of Brazeal’s courses at Morehouse, Freshman Lectures, in his first year, 20 September 1944–4 June 1945. As a Morehouse student, he participated in the Atlanta chapter of a Georgia interracial student group that Brazeal had helped organize in 1926 or 1927. See Brailsford Brazeal, interview by Judy Barton, 16 February 1972, MLK/OH-GAMK.

Source: CRO, NRCR, Crozer Theological Seminary Records, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, Rochester, N.Y.

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