From E. S. Hope
Author: Hope, E. S. (Edward Swain)
Date: August 1, 1956
Genre: Letter
Topic: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Details
The son of longtime Morehouse president John Hope sends a contribution of $100 and reports that newspapers in Beirut, Lebanon, where he taught at American University, were covering the Montgomery protest. 1
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Montgomery, Ala.
U.S.A.
Dear Rev. King:
There has been considerable mention of the Montgomery strike in the local Arabic press and the fight against segregation and for first class citizenship is being watched with interest in many parts of the world. It is surprizing to see how big a spread is given to such news about the American Negro. The treatment he receives greatly influences the attitude of many people and countries toward the United States.
e have just read in Ebony some of the details of the movement in Montgomery. I was delighted to find that a Morehouse man was leading the fight. I am sure that my father, the late John Hope, former president of Morehouse, would fully approve of your movement. Enclosed is my check for one hundred dollars to assist in it. Best wishes for success.
Enclosed also is a set of reports which we have sent out each year and a reprint on Engineering Education at this university. I think you might be interested in reading a little of our experiences during five years in the Middle East.
I am leaving here on the 17th of this month for my sabbatical leave and will be a guest at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology next year. My address will be 102 Crawford St., Boston, Mass. I hope that I may have the opportunity of seeing you and personally congratulating you for success in a fight that for the sake of the world as well as ourselves, must be won.
Sincerely
[signed] ESH
E. S. Hope
1. Edward Swain Hope (1901-1991), born in Atlanta, Georgia, earned a B.A. from Morehouse College, a B.S. and an M.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. After serving as Howard University’s superintendent of building and grounds (1932-1944), Hope became the first African-American lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. Hope joined Howard University’s faculty as a professor of civil engineering in 1947. In 1951 he was appointed chairman of American University’s civil engineering department in Beirut.
Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954-1968, Boston University, Boston, Mass.