To William Robert Miller
Author: King, Martin Luther, Jr. (Montgomery Improvement Association)
Date: April 23, 1957
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
Genre: Letter
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Family
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Political and Social Views
Nonviolence
Details
Mr. William Robert Miller
Fellowship
Nyack, New York
Dear Mr. Miller:
On returning to the country a few days ago I received your very kind letter of February 25, with several enclosures. I am deeply grateful to you for all of these valuable pieces of literature and also for the helpful suggestions in the letter. I am very sorry to know that you will not be on the staff of the FOR much longer. I am sure that this will be a big loss to the organization.1
Your suggestions concerning Bayard Rustin and Glenn Smiley were very good I think. This has been a problem that I have been confronted with for several months now. Both men are extraordinary in their particular areas. I am indebted to both for many helpful suggestions. I will do everything within my power to keep both men closely associated with our struggle without bringing about conflict between the two.
I am sorry that this letter boils down to just a note, but being away from the country so long caused a lot of mail to stack up. I am now facing the problem of trying to catch up. Please give my regards to all of my friends around the FOR office.
Very sincerely yours,
[signed] M. L. King, Jr., b
M. L. King, Jr.,
President
MLK:mlb
(Dictated by Rev. King, but transcribed and signed in his absence.)
1. In his 18 May reply to King, Miller explained that he had chosen not to resign from FOR. Miller also urged King to write a book about his experiences during the bus boycott and to contribute an article about his trip to Ghana to an upcoming issue of Fellowship. King replied on 29 May that he could not write the article because he was already working on a book.
Source: WRMP-GAMK, William Robert Miller Papers, 1955-1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., Box 1.