To William Berry Hartsfield
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr.; Walker, Wyatt Tee
Date: November 1, 1961
Location: Atlanta, Ga.?
Genre: Letter
Topic: Freedom Rides
Details
On 1 November, the day the Interstate Commerce Commission’s (ICC) ban on segregated interstate travel facilities took effect, SNCC members James Forman, Charles Jones, James Bevel, and Bernard Lafayette were arrested for trespassing at Jake’s Fine Foods, a privately owned restaurant located in Atlanta’s Trailways terminal.1 In the following telegram, King urges outgoing Mayor Hartsfield to intervene.2 In his reply, Hartsfield expressed his “regret that this sort of case had to come out of Atlanta.”3
mayor william b hartsfield
city hall
distressed that our city after having moved forward so creatively in race relations has today taken a step backwards. we know this is not the desire of your heart. request that you use the great influence of your office to resolve the four arrests made in violation of the new icc ruling and take whatever steps necessary to thwart any future violations.
very truly yours
southern christian leadership conference
martin luther king
president
wyatt tee walker
director
1. “Four Arrested in ICC Ruling Test,” Atlanta Daily World, 2 November 1961. In the wake of the attacks on the freedom riders, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy petitioned the ICC to order desegregation of all terminal facilities, including waiting rooms, restrooms, restaurants, and ticketing areas. The ICC did so in September 1961, but the order did not take effect until 1 November (ICC, Resolution MC-C-3358, “Discrimination in operations of interstate motor carriers of passengers,” 22 September 1961). A similar test case occurred in Jackson, Mississippi, where activists were arrested for entering the station’s “whites-only” waiting room (Claude Sitton, “I.C.C. Travel Rule Is Defied in South,” New York Times, 2 November 1961).
2. King also sent a similar telegram to Everett Hutchinson, chairman of the ICC (King and Walker to Hutchinson, 1 November 1961). In June 1961, Hartsfield had announced his intention to retire after serving six terms as mayor.
3. In a letter to Walker marked “personal,” Hartsfield contended that “had I or Chief Jenkins, or some discreet higher officer been in touch, probably the situation would not have occurred” (Hartsfield to Walker, 2 November 1961).
Source: MLKP-MBU, Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers, 1954–1968, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University, Boston, Mass.