To Robert F. Kennedy
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: January 25, 1962
Location: Atlanta, Ga.?
Genre: Letter
Details
In this telegram to the attorney general, King requests that the Justice Department monitor the safety of Fred L. Shuttlesworth, who had been jailed in Birmingham for an earlier conviction.1 Although the Justice Department refused to intervene, Shuttlesworth was released on $300 bond on 1 March.2
attorney general kennedy
dept of justice
dear mr kennedy this afternoon the rev fred shuttlesworth—secretary of the southern christian leadership conference surrendered himself to the authorities of birmingham alabama to begin serving a 90 day sentence growing out of the violation of a bus seating law that has since been declared unconstitutional.3 whereas mr shuttlesworth does not shrink from jail-going, i have grave fears for his safety in the light of the recent rash of bombings and general bitterness directed toward this courageous non-violent leader4 it is clear that hundreds of segregationists in and out of jail would like nothing better than to do bodily harm to rev shuttlesworth. we respectfully request immediate surveilance by your office of this situation as a precautionary measure to insure his safety
very truly yours
martin luther king jr
president
southern christian leadership conference
1. On 21 October 1958, Shuttlesworth surrendered to Birmingham police after leading James S. Phifer and twelve others in a protest against segregated seating practices by the Birmingham Transit Company the day before. Shuttlesworth and Phifer were fined $100 each and received ninety and sixty day sentences, respectively, for breach of the peace. During their appeal process, United States district judge Harlan Hobart Grooms ruled on 23 November 1959 that violating bus segregation laws did not constitute a breach of the peace; however, the United States Supreme Court refused to overturn the conviction on 8 January 1962 because Shuttlesworth’s lawyer did not file the appeal in time.
2. In a 1 February 1962 letter to King, assistant attorney general Burke Marshall explained that “there is no basis at this time to assume that the people of Birmingham will be lawless or that the local officials will not take the necessary steps to provide for Reverend Shuttlesworth’s safety.” For more details on Shuttlesworth’s release from jail, see King, “People in Action: Most Abused Man in Nation,” 31 March 1962, pp. 429–432 in this volume.
3. On 8 November 1961, District Judge Grooms ruled in Shuttlesworth et al. v. Gaylord et al. (202 F. Supp. 59) that the city’s public recreational facilities be desegregated. Following the verdict, Birmingham city officials drastically cut funding for recreational facilities, effectively shutting them down. Only the Birmingham Zoo, Art Museum, Municipal Airport, Legion Field, Vulcan Park, and Woodrow Wilson Park were left operating; however, the city charged an entrance fee to cover the operating costs of the zoo, and considered leasing some of the park properties to private groups.
4. King refers to three local churches that were bombed on 16 January.
Source: MLKJP-GAMK, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers (Series I–IV), Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.