To Charles Walker
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr. (Dexter Avenue Baptist Church)
Date: December 5, 1956
Location: Montgomery, Ala.?
Genre: Letter
Topic: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Nonviolence
Details
In a 5 November letter FOR staff member Walker wrote that he spoke frequently ‘‘on the significance of Montgomery” and urged people to send funds to the MIA. He asked King if the MIA had other needs. He added that a Quaker delegation from Philadelphia had been "deeply moved” by their visit to Montgomery. They were helping, he continued, “to sensitize Quakers here to be more faithful to their own testimony on non-violence.” 1
Mr. Charles Walker
Regional Secretary
Fellowship of Reconciliation
2006 Walnut Street
Philadelphia 3, Pa.
Dear Mr. Walker:
This is just a note to acknowledge receipt of your very kind letter of November 5. First, I must apologize for being so tardy in my reply. Absence from the city and the accumulation of a flood of mail account for the delay.
We are still gratified to know that you have continued in our struggle here in Montgomery. We are still facing problems, but they are gradually being solved. Our real problem now is to prepare the people to go back to integrated buses. As you know the Supreme Court's decision came down just a few weeks ago, and the city officials will attempt to circumvent the decision if at all possible. But we feel certain that the decision will go into effect as soon as the mandate comes down from Washington to the Federal District Court. Since our car pool is no longer in operation we will not need help from a friendly insurance agent. There are no particular needs confronting us at this time that are on my mind. Of course the general needs are still there, namely, prayer, moral support, and financial contributions. We will continue to need all of these things.
Again, let me express my appreciation to you for your moral support and Christian generosity. We will long remember your coming to our aid in this. I too wish it were possible for you to be in Montgomery during this week of the Institute on Non-Violence.
With every good wish, I am
Sincerely yours,
M. L. King, Jr.
Minister
MLK:mlb
(Dictated by Dr. King, but signed in his absence.)
1. Charles C. Walker (1920-), born in Gap, Pennsylvania, received his B.S. (1945) at Elizabethtown College (1941) and did graduate work at New York University. He was a staff member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (1944-1956) and the American Friends Service Committee (1956-1970). He was FOR'S field secretary for the Middle Atlantic region when he wrote King. According to his wife's recollection, Walker spoke on Gandhi and nonviolence at Crozer Theological Seminary while King was a student there (Marian G. Walker to King Papers Project, 9 February 1994). Walker helped found Liberation magazine, the Gandhi Institute, World Peace Brigade, Committee for Nonviolent Action, and other organizations.
Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954-1968, Boston University, Boston, Mass.