To George M. Houser
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: July 19, 1961
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Genre: Letter
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Political and Social Views
Details
King, an avid supporter of the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) since 1957, expresses horror at the violence occurring in Angola to Houser, the executive director of the ACOA: “The whole world should rise up and protest these unbelievable atrocities perpetuated by the Portuguese government.”1 While King agrees that a group of Americans should go to Angola to investigate conditions in the country, he declines Houser’s request to join such a committee.2
Mr. George M. Houser
American Committee on Africa
801 Second Avenue
New York 17, New York
Dear George:
First, let me apologize for being so tardy in my reply to your letter of June 21. Absence from the city and a rather extended lecture and fund-raising tour account for the delay.3
I know of no situation in the world that concerns me more than the brutality and barbarity taking place in Angola today.4 The whole world should rise up and protest these unbelieveable atrocities perpetrated by the Portuguese government against the people of Angola. I think the idea of sending a group of Americans to Angola as an unofficial commission is very much needed. Certainly, I would like to be a part of such a commission. Unfortunately, some roadblocks stand in the way of my joining you. As you know, the southern struggle is gaining momentum every day. We have some definite projects in mind for the fall in the area of non-violent action which will demand my presence. I feel a moral obligation to be on hand as much as possible as things happen in the south. I am sure you can understand my feeling at this point. I am sure that two or three weeks away from the struggle will be difficult, if not impossible, in the light of the aforementioned conditions. When I talked with Mr. Weiss I felt that I could possibly work it out but since that time some things have happened which makes it difficult for me to leave.5
Thank you very much for writing me. Please know that I am always interested in what is taking place in Africa and the great work that you and your associates are doing in the the American Committee on Africa. Whenever I can be of assistance, I will always respond. Please do not hesitate to call on me.
Sincerely yours,
[signed] Martin
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Km
1. In 1957 King joined the National Committee of the ACOA, and at Houser’s request, he later agreed to add his name to an appeal letter to raise funds for the ACOA’s Africa Defense and Aid Fund (King to Chester Bowles, 8 November 1957, in Papers 4:311–314; King to Friend, 12 November 1959, in Papers 5:320–321). On 15 March 1961, rebels based in northern Angola initiated an insurrection targeted at the Portuguese government and settlers in the region. In response, Portugal used armed force to break the rebellion, including bombings against native Angolans, and blamed the insurrection on outside agitators influenced by Communism and Protestantism. Estimates of the causalities vary. A United Nations report indicated that by early June 1961, Portuguese accounts estimated that 1,000 Europeans and 8,000 Africans had been killed. During Security Council debates on Angola, the number of African causalities was estimated at 30,000. In addition to those killed, a spike in refugees in African republics grew from 20,000 in April 1961 to 100,000 in June (U.N. General Assembly, Sixteenth Session, Official Records, Supplement 16, Report of the Sub-Committee on the Situation in Angola, prepared in pursuance of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 1603 [XV], A/4978, 1962, p. 14).
2. Houser to King, 21 June 1961. In January 1962, Houser and John A. Marcum, a specialist in African affairs at Lincoln University, went to Angola on a fact-finding mission to determine if American weapons given through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were being used against the Angolan rebels (Houser, “A report on a journey through rebel Angola,” January 1962).
3. King was on a speaking tour throughout much of June; he attended the 52nd annual NAACP convention in Philadelphia on 10 July 1961.
4. King became personally aware of the struggles in Angola in 1959 when Deolinda Rodrigues Francisco de Almeida, a twenty-year-old Angolan student who was later jailed for her participation in the Angolan independence movement, wrote him requesting advice and support (see King to Rodrigues, 21 July 1959, and King to Rodrigues, 21 December 1959, in Papers 5:250–251; 345–346, respectively).
5. King refers to his discussion with ACOA vice-chairman Peter Weiss about joining the commission (Houser to King, 21 June 1961).
Source: ACOA-ARC, American Committee on Africa Records, Amistad Research Center, New Orleans, La.