From James R. Wood
Author: Wood, James R.
Date: September 1, 1961 to September 30, 1961?
Genre: Letter
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Threats/attacks against
Details
Wood, public relations director for SCLC, denies accusations that he was involved in a “vulgar plan to discredit SCLC” and that he made disparaging comments about the organization’s leadership, namely King and Wyatt Tee Walker. “If this results in my leaving the conference,” Wood wrote, “I will feel the loss deeply.” Wood resigned from SCLC in February 1962 at the behest of Walker.1
Daar Martin,
I have been thinking constantly about our conversation of this afternoon. There seems to be no way I can make sense of it. As I sat there I thought of all the things that have been said to me about SCLC and the men who lead it. Things I have not chosen to repeat nor even accept as truth. At one point I felt the need to talk of these but, decided it would would only degrade the whole thing further. Nothing is to be gained by adding charges and countercharges.
The question in my mind is why all this is happening. With God as my witness I did not say these things. As I listened to the things I was charged with saying I recognized them as things I’ve heard many times in many places here in Atlanta, Petersburg and others.2 Much of this I’ve attributed to the usual gossip. All of it I’ve chosen not to repeat.
My work with SCLC has been a strange experience for me. First I was felt unable or incapable of doing the work assigned to me. When the meeting with the committee took place I felt that was the time to present a detailed explanation of my position. Two things caused me not to do this. First, I had no knowledge of the matters to be discussed and was completely surprised to learn what they were after the discussion started. Not having had time to prepare a defense I chose simply to answer questions. I made no attempt to contact committee members later and explain my position because of the new questions it would raise. I preferred to rest on their collective judgement. Then too, I felt that if the organization was to conduct its business in that fashion then it may be better for me to resign.
Secondly, my principle desire was and still is, to work at the job of changing social patterns. If I had gotten into a fight about the rightness and wrongness of judgements and opinions it would result in nothing but greater bitterness between Wyatt and me. This, I felt would only serve to make matters worse.
Recently, things have been exceptionally good in our office relationships, or at least I thought so. When the shift to voting came for me I felt this would open a new phase of good relationships. I would be serving where my best abilities and experience would be in use and the conference needs a successful program in this area. I knew I could make a substantial contribution that would meet the needs of the conference and satisfy my desire to work in the field I’ve chosen.
Now it appears that I have been involved in some vulgar plan to discredit SCLC and the men in it. Furthermore, I find myself unable to defend myself against it. One thing that bothers me is that had I chosen to tell some person the things in question I certainly would not have chosen Edwina to tell them to.3 She has always shown loyalty to Wyatt as a person. Even when conversation in the office was negative in this regard she would defend Wyatt. I have listened to it many times.
Edwina has had much difficulty resulting from her position in the office. At one time there were very bitter relationships with the other personnel. The only possible reason I can construct for these alleged statements attributed to me is that she may have been seeking to solidify her position in relation to Wyatt and you. This is purely a guess on my part since ther is nothing I can point to as fact. People do strange things and I have been witness to many of them in the forty-six years of my life.
If this results in my leaving the conference I will feel the loss deeply. I have sincerely wanted to work with your image because it is the only tangible thing present today with which motivation of the Negro can be made possible. Then too, SCLC needs people with experience if it will do the job that needs to be done. I regret this whole thing and wish there were something I could do about it. At present, I can see nothing I can do to refute these charges that would not create more harm than good.
I had thought of resigning. But, this would in fact be an implication of guilt. I could not have this hanging over me in the years to come since I will continue in this work. If I am discharged I have no choice but to accept this. If I stay I could disprove this by action. No matter what happens I will continue to have complete loyalty to the ideas and principles on which SCLC is founded because I believe in them. None of us are perfect. If we are to do the job we must all put principle above personality. I have tried to do this.
[signed] Jim
1. By November 1961 SCLC had begun searching for a new administrative assistant (Stanley D. Levison to King, 1 November 1961, pp. 318–319 in this volume). SCLC hired New York journalist Gould Maynard for the job in January 1962. In an 18 January 1962 letter to Walker, Wood requested an “indefinite leave” from SCLC to spend more time on a new organization he had started. Two months later, Wood wrote King saying that his resignation from SCLC was involuntary and that the date was set by Walker (Wood to King, 18 March 1962). James Richard Wood (1918–1976), born in Washington, D.C., attended the Hampton Institute and New York University before receiving training in the U.S. Marine Corps School of Organization. He established military training centers during World War II and worked with the United Mine Workers and the United Automobile Workers. While working as a data processing instructor at Virginia State College, Wood met Wyatt Tee Walker and together they founded the Petersburg Improvement Association. Wood became Walker’s administrative assistant and moved with him to Atlanta to join SCLC in 1960. From August 1960 until his resignation in February 1962, Wood served as King’s administrative assistant and SCLC’s director of public relations. Wood later worked for WAOK Radio in Atlanta, for Lockheed Corporation as assistant to the director of public relations, and for IBM as a communications specialist.
2. After Walker accepted the position of executive director of SCLC he brought Wood and Dorothy Cotton from the Petersburg Improvement Association with him.
3. Wood refers to Edwina Smith, Walker’s secretary.
Source: MLKJP-GAMK, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers (Series I–IV), Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.