To Kivie Kaplan
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: March 6, 1961
Location: Atlanta, Ga.?
Genre: Letter
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Political and Social Views
Details
Since 1958 NAACP board member Kivie Kaplan had attempted to recruit King to join the organization’s national board without success.1 In early 1961 Kaplan wrote four letters urging King’s participation.2 Citing a busy schedule, King again declines Kaplan’s offer but responds to Kaplan’s query about the Nation of Islam, better known as the Black Muslims.3 King calls the sect a black supremacist organization, but acknowledges that some blacks might be attracted to the group: “As long as doors are closed in the faces of millions of Negroes and they feel dejected and dis-inherited, an organization like this will appeal to some.” In his 13 March 1961 reply, Kaplan thanked King for the note.
Mr. Kivie Kaplan
Colonial Tanning Company, Incorporated
195 South Street
Boston 11, Massachusets
Dear Kivie:
I am just returning to the office after having been out more than two weeks getting some much-needed rest.4 I would have answered your letters long before now but this absence from the city as well as the accumulation of other responsibilities stood in my way.
First, let me try to answer your question concerning the NAACP Board. After giving this matter serious consideration I have come to the conclusion that it would probably be too much added to my schedule to accept a position on the Board of NAACP at this time. Recently I have had to adopt a policy of spending much more time in the south because of the temper of events in this section of the country. This means that I have had to cut down on my outside travel a great deal. A position on the Board of NAACP, while being a cherished one and one that I would be honored to accept, would certainly increase my responsibilities and I am afraid that I would not be able to make as many of the meetings as a good Board member would be expected to attend. For these reasons, I think it would be better not to bring my name before the Board at this time.
Second, you raise the question concerning the Muslims.5 I regret to say that I know very little about the inner workings of this organization. My knowledge is limited to what I have read in the papers. I have never met Elijah Mohammed or any of his followers. Therefore, I would not like to be accused of giving false information concerning the organization.
In general terms, the Muslims, under the guise of the great religion of Islam (Islam, which is one of the great religions of the world, would disclaim any connection with the so-called Muslim sect of the United States) preaches a doctrine of racial separation rather than racial integration. They have some kind of strange dream of a black nation within the larger nation. At times the public expressions of this group have bordered on a new kind of race hatred and an unconscious advocacy of violence. It has also preached a doctrine of black supremacy. I must, however, say that the the challenge which an extremist organization like this offers is that of demanding of us to work with renewed vigor to get rid of racial discrimination and all other conditions which such an organization thrives on. As long as doors are closed in the faces of millions of Negroes and they feel dejected and dis-inherited, an organization like this will appeal to some. It derives its membership largely from uneducated and underpriviledged Negroes who have lost the sense of belonging and have often felt forgotten.
It is always good to hear from you.
Thanks again for all of the nice things that you sent us at the birth of our new son.6 I am happy to report that Dexter Scott (the new baby) and Coretta are doing very well. It is the inspiration that come from the friends like you and your lovely wife that give us the courage and vigor to carry on.7
Sincerely yours,
Martin
Km
1. See note 1, King to Kaplan, 3 May 1960, in Papers 5:451.
2. Kaplan to King, 16 January 1961; Kaplan to Dora E. McDonald, 17 January 1961; Kaplan to King, 20 January 1961; and Kaplan to McDonald, 20 February 1961. In a letter to Dora E. McDonald, King’s secretary, Kaplan wrote that “it is very, very frustrating to be on one end of a non-answering correspondence” (Kaplan to McDonald, 20 February 1961).
3. In his 20 February letter to McDonald, Kaplan wrote: “If he would tell me about the Muslims—what he knows about them—I would appreciate knowing as fully as I could about them.” In a 9 January 1962 letter to Larry P. Silvey, a senior at Oklahoma State University, King called the black nationalist movement a “much more serious threat” than communism to African Americans, but suggested that as long as the United States continues to move toward a desegregated society, the threat will diminish (Silvey to King, 29 October 1961; King to Silvey, 9 January 1962).
4. King vacationed in the Bahamas for several days beginning on 19 February.
5. King refers to the members of the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black nationalist religious organization advocating spiritual, social, and political separatism. The group, led by Elijah Muhammad from 1934 until his death in 1975, based their teachings on the Prophet Muhammad and Islamic religion.
6. After the birth of the Kings’ son Dexter Scott on 30 January 1961, Kaplan and his wife sent clothes for the new baby (Kivie and Emily Kaplan to Martin and Coretta Scott King, 1 February 1961).
7. King refers to Kaplan’s wife, Emily.
Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954–1968, Boston University, Boston, Mass.