From J. H. Jackson

Author: Jackson, J. H. (Joseph Harrison)

Date: September 12, 1961

Location: Chicago, Ill.

Genre: Letter

Details

Jackson replies to King’s 10 September demand that he retract a statement blaming King for the death of a delegate at the National Baptist Convention (NBC). Jackson insists that he was misquoted and has been “victimized” by the press. King later commented that, while Jackson’s statement was not a real retraction, he would not sue him for libel.¹

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2873 Dale Creek Rd. N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia

Dear Dr. King:

Please find enclosed a statement that was given to Mr. Joe Dell of the Associated Press last night.² I repeated to him the statement that I made to you on the ’phone Sunday morning to the effect that I did not say that you had master-minded the invasion of the convention hall that resulted in a delegates’ death.³ The rest of the enclosed statement is the same as I attempted to give you on the telephone last Sunday morning.

I have been victimized so much in the public press that I have no desire to occa­sion any other person the pain and suffering of misrepresentation.

I do not believe the reporters are malicious in this, but they can mistand, and therefore misrepresent. Allow me to quote several misrepresentations regarding me:

U.P.I. makes this statement September 8, 1961: “The Rev. Mr. Jackson who for all intent and purpose has been president for the last twelve months delivered the president’s annual report. He collapsed after his one hour speech but was revived quickly.”⁴ There is not one iota of truth in the last sentence. I have never collapsed since I have been in public life.

An A.P. story in the New York Times, Sunday September 10th: “Mr. Jackson, an activist who favors freedom rides has held the presidential post several years. He and Dr. Gardner Taylor differ on how to achieve civil rights goals. Mr. Taylor favors reliance on court suits.”⁵ This quotation reveals another case of an error in the public press.

I hope the enclosed statement as given to the public press will receive as wide publicity as the former statement we seek to correct.

Best wishes to the family and friends.

Yours truly,
J. H. Jackson

JHJ:NM
Enclosures

^1. In an interview with the Associated Negro Press, King said: “Dr. Jackson has not apologized. I don’t consider his statement a real retraction. I think it should be made clear about who made the state­ment. All the reporters there said he did, but he says he didn’t” (Eddie L. Madison, Press release, “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., says he will not sue Dr. Jackson for alleged statement that he masterminded convention violence ‘at this time,’” 20 September 1961).

^2. “Statement by Dr. J. H. Jackson, President National Baptist Convention of the United States of America,” 10 September 1961.

^3. In his statement, Jackson claimed that King was “the master-mind behind the protest techniques” of the sit-ins and Freedom Rides, not Taylor’s challenge to the presidency of the NBC. He explained that the statement was “not designed or intended to accuse Dr. King of any disorder,” but was crediting King “for his share in the philosophy of protest” (“Statement by Jackson”).

^4. “Preacher Hurt in Convention Rioting Dies,” Chicago Tribune, 8 September 1961.

^5. The quoted article was published in the Times on 9 September (“Chicagoan Elected at Baptist Parley”). Far from favoring reliance on court action over direct action, Taylor was a supporter of the Freedom Rides and even encouraged King’s participation in a ministerial Freedom Ride (Taylor to King, 7 July 1961, p. 251 in this volume).

Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954–1968, Boston University, Boston, Mass.