From Peter A. Bertocci
Author: Bertocci, Peter Anthony (Boston University)
Date: February 24, 1956
Location: Boston, Mass.
Genre: Letter
Topic: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Details
Bertocci, Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, commends his former student’s “fight for greater justice.”
Dear Martin,
Paul Deats has been telling me about the kind of witness you have been giving to your conviction1—of which I have been reading also in the newspapers. I was so glad to see that someone was speaking to destroy bitterness at the very moment when it can be allowed to swell beyond any possible good purpose. I have just returned from a student conference in Mississippi and am distressed by the way in which the attempt to do good can destroy good and discourage steps toward improvement. Because I realize more than ever how difficult it is for the Christian to witness most effectively, I want to tell you how humble I feel about even writing this note—which is simply to say that I pray that you may continue to know the best way to take in your situation as you try to guide in the fight for greater justice.
Cordially,
[signed] Peter A. Bertocci
1. Paul Deats, Jr. (1918-), was an assistant professor of social ethics and religious higher education at Boston University, having just received his Ph.D. at the university in 1954.
Source: DABCC-INP, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church Collection, In Private Hands