To Herbert H. Eaton
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: December 21, 1961
Location: Atlanta, Ga.?
Genre: Letter
Topic: Albany Movement
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Arrests
Details
Following his release from jail, King thanks his successor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church for a letter of concern.1 He tells Eaton that although the agreement reached in Albany was less than he hoped for it was “a real victory for the Negro community.”
The Rev. Herbert H. Eaton
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
454 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery 4, Alabama
Dear Herb:
This is just a note to thank you for your very kind letter of recent date. I am now a free man again after a brief sojourn in a rather depressing Georgia jail. While we did not achieve all that we had anticipated in the Albany situation, I think it was a real victory for the Negro community. Your encouraging words were most inspiring. Such moral support is of inestimable value for the continuance of my humble efforts.
Please extend my warm best wishes to all of the members of Dexter. I hope for you a most joyous Christmas and a New Year packed with meaningful fulfillment.
Wish every good wish, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Km
1. In his letter, Eaton wrote: “We sang the song of faith ‘Fight the good fight with all thy might! Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;’ in dedication to you and all of the freedom fighters who now are facing the battle lines throughout the country” (Eaton to King, 20 December 1961). King was arrested in Albany on 16 December and released two days later.
Source: MLKJP-GAMK, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers (Series I–IV), Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.