To Roy Wilkins
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date: January 3, 1962
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Genre: Letter
Details
Following the 1 January tribute in honor of Wilkins’s thirty years of service to the NAACP, King offers him his congratulations.1 Wilkins replied on 11 January 1962.2
roy wilkins, naacp
20 west 40 st ny
as a result of being out of the office two weeks i totally forgot the tribute in honor of your 50 years of dedicated service in the fight for freedom. please accept my belated congratulations you have proved to be one of the great leaders of our time through your efficiency as an administrator your genuine humanitarian concern and your unswerving devotion to the principles of freedom and human dignity you have carved for yourself and imperishable niche in the annals of contemporary history may god continue to bless you in your significant work and may the new year bring our whole national closer to goal of democracy and brotherhood that you have worked so untiringly to achieve
martin luther king jr
1. Wilkins began his career with the NAACP as chief assistant to executive secretary Walter White. When White died in 1955, Wilkins succeeded him.
2. Wilkins wrote: “There can be no doubt that victory in our cause will be achieved when we note the emergence of inspirational leaders like yourself who have fired the conscience of the nation and the world in this issue.”
Source: NAACPP-DLC, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.