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The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume II

The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Volume 2 - Rediscovering Precious Values | July 1951-November 1955, Clayborne Carson, Senior Editor

Volume II begins with King’s doctoral work at Boston University and ends with his first year as pastor of the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

It includes papers from his graduate courses and a fully annotated text of his dissertation. There is correspondence with people King knew in his years before graduate school and a transcription of the first known recording of a King sermon. We learn, too, of King’s marriage to Coretta Scott.

Accepting the call to serve Dexter, King followed the church’s tradition of socially active pastors by becoming involved in voter registration and other issues of social justice. In Montgomery he completed his doctoral work, and he and Coretta Scott began their married life.

Download the Introduction to Volume 2 (pdf)

Contents

I: Boston University

Date Title
15 Oct 1951 To Sankey L. Blanton
26 Oct 1951 From Morton Scott Enslin
4 Dec 1951 “The Personalism of J. M. E. McTaggart Under Criticism”
6 Dec 1951 To Edgar S. Brightman
6 Dec 1951 “A Comparison and Evaluation of the Philosophical Views Set Forth in J. M. E. McTaggart’s Some Dogmas of Religion, and William E. Hocking’s The Meaning of God in Human Experience with Those Set Forth in Edgar S. Brightman’s Course on ‘Philosophy of Religion’”
12 Dec 1951 Crozer Quarterly
2 Jan 1952 “Karl Barth’s Conception of God”
9 Jan 1952 Final Examination Answers, Philosophy of Religion
Jan 1952 Final Examination Answers, Personalism
13 Sept 1951–15 Jan 1952 “Contemporary Continental Theology”
2 Apr 1952 “Reinhold Niebuhr”
9 May 1952 “Reinhold Niebuhr’s Ethical Dualism”
26 May 1952–5 Jul 1952 Examination Answers, History of Recent Philosophy
29 Jul 1952 To Charles E. Batten
14 Aug 1952 From Melvin H. Watson
18 Sept 1952 Petition to the Boston University Faculty 
31 Oct 1952 From H. Edward Whitaker
6 Nov 1952 From William R. Strassner
18 Nov 1952 From W. T. Handy, Jr.
3 Dec 1952 Sankey L. Blanton to William R. Strassner
22 Sept 1952–28 Jan 1953 Notecards on Books of the Old Testament
22 Sept 1952–28 Jan 1953 Final Examination Answers, Religious Teachings of the Old Testament
4 Feb 1953 Petition to the Boston University Faculty
17 Feb 1953 From D. E. King
Mar 1953 To Otto R. Loverude
Mar 1953 To D. E. King
15 May 1953 “A Comparison and Evaluation of the Theology of Luther with That of Calvin”
19 May 1953 Final Examination Answers, History of Christian Doctrine
4 Feb 1953–22 May 1953 “An Exposition of the First Triad of Categories of the Hegelian Logic—Being, Non-Being, Becoming”
2 Jun 1953 From Rosemary Murphy
23 Jun 1953 From Charles E. Batten
14 Aug 1953 From Henry Nelson Wieman
22 Sept 1953 From Paul Tillich
2 Nov 1953 Qualifying Examination Answers, Theology of the Bible
3 Nov 1953 J. Timothy Boddie to Martin Luther King, Sr.
16 Nov 1953 J. T. Brooks to Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King
19 Nov 1953 From Melvin H. Watson
20 Nov 1953 Qualifying Examination Answers, History of Doctrine
24 Nov 1953 To Melvin H. Watson
24 Nov 1953 To J. Timothy Boddie
24 Nov 1953 To J. L. Henry
24 Nov 1953 To J. T. Brooks
1 Dec 1953 To Werner Rode
1 Dec 1953 To Reinhold Niebuhr
1 Dec 1953 To George W. Davis
3 Dec 1953 From Ven and Joel Lawrence King
7 Dec 1953 From George W. Davis
8 Dec 1953 From Bernard M. Loomer
9 Dec 1953 To Joel Lawrence King
17 Dec 1953 Qualifying Examination Answers, Systematic Theology
30 Dec 1953 From L. Harold DeWolf
12 Jan 1954 From G. A. Key
16 Jan 1954 From J. T. Brooks
17 Jan 1954 From Walter R. McCall
25 Jan 1954 A. A. Banks, Jr., to Martin Luther King, Sr.
25 Jan 1954 From Alberta Williams King
4 Feb 1954 From Joel Lawrence King
8 Feb 1954 From Joel Lawrence King
8 Feb 1954 From R. D. Crockett
13 Feb 1954 From J. McKinley Lee, Sr.
19 Feb 1954 From A. A. Banks, Jr.
24 Feb 1954 Qualifying Examination Answers, History of Philosophy
28 Feb 1954 Rediscovering Lost Values
7 Mar 1954 From R. D. Nesbitt and T. H. Randall
10 Mar 1954 From Joseph C. Parker, Sr.
10 Mar 1954 To Pulpit Committee, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
15 Mar 1954 From R. D. Nesbitt
14 Apr 1954 To Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
15 Apr 1954 From J. T. Brooks
16 Apr 1954 From Leonard G. Carr
19 Apr 1954 From R. D. Nesbitt
8 May 1954 From H. Edward Whitaker
13 May 1954 From R. D. Nesbitt
15 May 1954 To L. Harold DeWolf
15 May 1954 To Joseph C. Parker, Sr.
15 May 1954 To Leonard G. Carr
22 May 1954 To Montgomery Pastors
24 Jun 1954 From Thomas Kilgore, Jr.
24 Jun 1954 To Thomas Kilgore, Jr.
Apr 1953–June 1954 "The Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr"
26 Jul 1954 To Francis E. Stewart
29 Jul 1954 From Francis E. Stewart
3 Aug 1954 From Nannie H. Burroughs
5 Aug 1954 From Walter R. McCall

II: Montgomery, Alabama

Date Title
5 Sept 1954 “Recommendations to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church for the Fiscal Year 1954-1955”
1954 Notes on Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., at Woman’s Auxiliary, National Baptist Convention on 9 Sept 1954
15 Sept 1954 From H. Edward Whitaker
21 Sept 1954 From Nannie H. Burroughs
24 Sept 1954 From Estelle Jackson
Oct 1954 To Samuel D. Proctor
4 Oct 1954 From Harold Edward Pinkston
9 Oct 1954 From Clyde L. Reynolds
19 Oct 1954 To Paul Tillich
19 Oct 1954 To Ralph W. Riley
19 Oct 1954 To Walter R. McCall
20 Oct 1954 From Melvin H. Watson
21 Oct 1954 From Walter R. McCall
26 Oct 1954 To William H. Hester
Oct 1954 To Benjamin Elijah Mays
Nov 1954 From Major J. Jones
1 Nov 1954 From Sankey L. Blanton
2 Nov 1954 From William H. Hester
2 Nov 1954 To Melvin H. Watson
3 Nov 1954

From Paul Tillich

4 Nov 1954 From Benjamin Elijah Mays
4 Nov 1954 “Montgomery-Antioch Ass’n. Endorses Wilson and Washington”
6 Nov 1954 To Ebenezer Baptist Church Members
18 Nov 1954 From Samuel W. Williams
24 Nov 1954 To Ralph Abernathy
24 Nov 1954 To William H. Hester
24 Nov 1954 To Benjamin Elijah Mays
29 Nov 1954 From Melvin H. Watson
30 Nov 1954 From Benjamin Elijah Mays
2 Dec 1954  From Martin Luther King, Sr.
10 Dec 1954 From Roland Smith
15 Dec 1954 From Melvin H. Watson
21 Dec 1954 From J. Pius Barbour
1955 From Percy A. Carter, Jr.
1951–1955 “The Challenge of the Book of Jonah”
1951–1955 “The Bigness of God”
1951–1955 “God’s Love”
12 Jan 1955 From Emory O. Jackson
14 Jan 1955 From W. W. Law
25 Jan 1955 “Apathy Among Church Leaders Hit in Talk By Rev. M. L. King”
5 Feb 1955 From William J. Cole
24 Feb 1955 From Roland Smith
26 Feb 1955 First Reader’s Report, by L. Harold DeWolf
26 Feb 1955 Second Reader’s Report, by S. Paul Schilling
2 Mar 1955 To Julian O. Grayson
3 Mar 1955 From Walter R. McCall
14 Mar 1955 From Julius James
15 Apr 1955 Table of Contents and Headnote, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Abstract of “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Chapter I, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Chapter II, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Chapter III, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Chapter IV, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Chapter V, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Chapter VI, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
15 Apr 1955 Bibliography, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”
18 Apr 1955 From Samuel D. Proctor
19 Apr 1955 From H. Edward Whitaker
2 May 1955 From H. Councill Trenholm
6 May 1955 From Walter R. McCall
6 May 1955 From Melvin H. Watson
11 May 1955 From William A. Bell
12 May 1955 J. Raymond Henderson to Martin Luther King, Sr.
12 May 1955 From J. Raymond Henderson
16 May 1955 Martin Luther King, Sr., to J. Raymond Henderson
28 May 1955 From L. Harold DeWolf
31 May 1955 From Duncan E. MacDonald
May 1955 From Major J. Jones
June 1955 From Major J. Jones
4 Jun 1955 From L. Harold DeWolf
7 Jun 1955 From Archibald J. Carey, Jr.
7 Jun 1955 From Daniel W. Wynn
28 Jun 1955 To Benjamin Elijah Mays
June 1955 From Major J. Jones
21 Jul 1955 From J. Pius Barbour
25 Jul 1955 From Albert W. Dent
Aug 1955 From Major J. Jones
1 Aug 1955 From Sankey L. Blanton
8 Aug 1955 From Kelly Miller Smith
20 Aug 1955 From Sylvester Jones
26 Aug 1955 To Sylvester Jones
26 Aug 1955 From Rosa Parks
28 Sept 1955 From J. H. Jackson
29 Sept 1955 From Walter R. McCall
22 Oct 1955 From Walter R. McCall
27 Oct 1955 From Nathaniel Garth
27 Oct 1955 To Dexter Avenue Baptist Church Members
1 Oct 1954–31 Oct 1955 Annual Report, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
31 Oct 1955 To Howard Thurman
2 Nov 1955 To W. T. Handy, Jr.
2 Nov 1955 To Vernon O. Rogers
2 Nov 1955 To Roosevelt Smitherman
3 Nov 1955 From John Thomas Porter
14 Nov 1955 From Howard Thurman
15 Nov 1955 To Ralph W. Riley
16 Nov 1955 To Rev. and Mrs. J. C. Bonner
18 Nov 1955 To John Thomas Porter
18 Nov 1955 To Samuel D. Proctor
25 Nov 1955 From C. R. Williams
29 Nov 1955 To C. R. Williams
30 Nov 1955 To H. Edward Whitaker

Chronology 

Date Event
2 Sept 1951 Martin Luther King, Jr., preaches “What Is Man?” and “What Think Ye of Christ?” at Ebenezer.
13 Sept 1951–15 Jan 1952 During his first term at Boston University’s School of Theology, King enrolls in Personalism, Formal Logic, Philosophy of Religion, Directed Study in Systematic Theology, and Seminar in Systematic Theology.
16 Sept King is the guest preacher at the Reverend Gardner Taylor’s Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn.
2 Oct Boston University approves King’s outline of study.
22 Nov King, Jr., attends his parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary celebration in Atlanta.
23 Jan–16 May 1952 For his second semester at Boston, King takes three courses: Religious Teachings of the New Testament, Directed Study in Systematic Theology, and Seminar in Systematic Theology.
Feb King begins to date Coretta Scott, a student at the New England Conservatory of Music.
4 Feb–10 June As a “special student” at Harvard University, King enrolls in the History of Modern Philosophy.
15 Feb King passes French examination at Boston University, partially fulfilling the language requirement.
16 Mar King preaches at Ebenezer’s celebration of its sixty-fifth anniversary and of King, Sr.’s twentieth anniversary as its pastor.
18 May King preaches “The Relevance of the Holy Spirit” at Ebenezer.
25 May King delivers “The Prevalence of Practical Atheism” at Ebenezer.
26 May–5 July King takes two courses during the intersession at Boston University: Seminar in Historical Theology and History of Recent Philosophy.
22 June King is initiated into Boston’s Sigma chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha social fraternity.
12 July–7 Sept King serves as pastor in charge at Ebenezer.
24 July King attends the annual session of Georgia’s Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress in Atlanta.
Aug Coretta Scott visits Atlanta and meets the King family for the first time.
10 Aug King preaches “The Challenge of Communism to Christianity” at Ebenezer.
24 Aug King is Youth Day speaker at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Atlanta.
7 Sept King preaches “Mental and Spiritual Slavery” at Ebenezer.
22 Sept 1952–28 Jan 1953 During the first term of his second year at Boston, King takes four courses: Religious Teachings of the Old Testament, History of Christian Doctrine I, Seminar in Philosophy (Hegel), and Seminar in the History of Philosophy.
22 Sept 1952–26 Jan 1953 King enrolls in the Philosophy of Plato at Harvard.
10 Oct King fails Boston University’s German examination.
6 Nov Shaw University President William R. Strassner asks King to apply to become the university’s dean of religion.
Nov King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King visit Boston.
Fall King preaches at John Street Baptist Church in Worcester, Massachusetts.
26 Jan–2 June 1953 King’s final course at Harvard is on the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead.
4 Feb–22 May King enrolls in his last courses at Boston: History of Christian Doctrine 11, Seminar in Philosophy (Hegel), and Directed Study in Thesis and Dissertation Writing.
18 Feb On his second attempt, King passes the German examination, thus completing Boston University’s language requirement.
25 Feb King’s academic advisor at Boston University, Edgar S. Brightman, dies. King later chooses L. Harold DeWolf as his new advisor.
Apr Obadiah and Bernice Scott announce the engagement of Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King, Jr.
19 Apr King speaks at First United Baptist Church in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the invitation of its pastor, the Reverend Otto R. Loverude. King gives a talk on “What it means to be a Negro in the Deep South” and preaches the sermon “What Does It Mean to Believe in God?”
7 May In a public debate with John Wesley Dobbs, King, Sr., supports Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield’s campaign for reelection.
18 June King, Sr., performs the marriage ceremony of King, Jr., and Coretta Scott at the Scott home near Marion, Alabama.
21 June King preaches “By These Things Men Live” at Ebenezer’s morning services and “Does It Pay to Be Faithful?” in the evening. King, Sr., baptizes Coretta Scott King.
Summer Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King spend the summer in Atlanta. King serves as Ebenezer’s pastor in charge, and Coretta Scott King works in a local bank.
Summer King attends an interseminary conference at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.
28 June King preaches “Accepting Responsibility for Your Actions” at Ebenezer.
5 July Atlanta’s WERD, the nation’s first radio station owned and operated by African-Americans, begins broadcasting from Ebenezer for several months.
12 July King preaches “Transformed Non-Conformists” at Ebenezer.
19 July Clark College Dean of Women Phoebe Burney is the Women’s Day speaker at Ebenezer. Coretta Scott King is the featured soloist at the morning service.
26 July King preaches “God’s Revelation to the World” at Ebenezer.
2 Aug King preaches “Dressing Christ in False Robes” at Ebenezer.
9 Aug King delivers the sermon “The Tragedy of Almost” at Ebenezer.
16 Aug King preaches, “Lord, Is It I?” at Ebenezer.
23 Aug King delivers the sermon “Self-Examination” at Ebenezer.
30 Aug King delivers the sermon “Opportunity, Fidelity, and Reward” at Ebenezer’s morning services; in the evening, he preaches at Pilgrim Baptist Church
6 Sept King preaches “The Dimensions of a Complete Life” at Ebenezer.
8–14 Sept King attends the annual meeting of the National Baptist Convention in Miami. The Reverend J. H. Jackson, pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, is elected president of the convention.
Sept The Kings rent an apartment at 396 Northampton Street in Boston and resume their studies.
Nov Alberta Williams King and King, Sr., spend two weeks in New York and Boston.
15 Nov King preaches at the Reverend J. Timothy Boddie’s New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
22 Nov King preaches at the Reverend J. L. Henry’s Tenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
21 Dec King leaves Boston for vacation in Atlanta.
1 Jan 1954 King attends the Emancipation Day celebration sponsored by the Atlanta branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at the City Auditorium. The Reverend J. H. Jackson gives the annual address.
3 Jan King preaches in the morning at Ebenezer.
10 Jan King preaches in the morning at Ebenezer.
17 Jan King delivers a trial sermon at First Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
24 Jan King delivers a trial sermon, “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Dexter’s former pastor Vernon Johns preaches “Segregation After Death” at Ebenezer.
28 Feb At the invitation of the Reverend A. A. Banks, Jr., King preaches “Rediscovering Lost Values” at Second Baptist Church in Detroit.
7 Mar King is in Lansing, Michigan, to preach at his uncle Joel Lawrence King’s church in the morning and evening. He also addresses the local branch of the NAACP in the afternoon.
By a unanimous vote, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church calls King to its pastorate.
1 Apr King’s Boston University transcript indicates that he has passed his qualifying examinations.
4 Apr King meets with the pulpit committee at Dexter.
9 Apr Boston University approves King’s outline of his dissertation.
14 Apr King accepts the call to Dexter’s pastorate.
25 Apr King preaches at the Reverend Leonard G. Carr’s Vine Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
26 Apr The Kings host a meeting of a black graduate study group, the Dialectical Society, at their Boston apartment.
10 May Professor L. Harold DeWolf lectures at a meeting of the Dialectical Society; King offers the opening prayer.
16 May King preaches at the Thirty-third Annual Memorial Service of the Pullman Porters’ Benefit Association of America at Union Baptist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
17 May In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Court declares racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
30 May King preaches “Loving Your Enemies” at Dexter and presides over the ordination of deacons. He spends the summer commuting between Boston and Montgomery.
13 June At the invitation of the Reverend Thomas Kilgore, Jr., King preaches at Friendship Baptist Church in Harlem, New York City.
15 June Coretta Scott King receives her bachelor of music degree in music education from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
22 June King, Sr., addresses the opening session of the National Baptist Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress in Birmingham, Alabama.
11 July King preaches “What Is Man?” for Men’s Day at Dexter.
1 Sept King begins his pastorate at Dexter.
5 Sept King delivers his first sermon as pastor of Dexter and presents his “Recommendations to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church for the Fiscal Year 1954–1955,” which are accepted by the congregation.
6-11 Sept King, Jr., Alberta Williams King, and King, Sr., attend the National Baptist Convention in St. Louis.
9 Sept King, Jr., speaks to the Women’s Convention at the request of its president, Nannie Helen Burroughs. King’s noonday message is “The Vision of the World Made New.”
4-10 Oct Phoebe Burney is the guest speaker for Women’s Emphasis Week at Dexter.
20-21 Oct King attends the Montgomery-Antioch District Association’s annual meeting at Hutchinson Street Baptist Church in Montgomery. King is appointed to serve as reporter.
31 Oct At King, Jr.’s installation as pastor of Dexter, King, Sr., preaches the sermon, and Alberta Williams King conducts Ebenezer’s choir.
Nov King and Coretta Scott King spend two weeks in Boston working on a draft of his dissertation.
14 Nov King preaches at the Reverend William H. Hester’s Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston.
25 Nov The annual Thanksgiving program at Montgomery’s First Baptist Church features a solo by Coretta Scott King.
28 Nov King delivers the Men’s Day sermon at Atlanta’s Friendship Baptist Church, whose pastor is the Reverend Samuel W. Williams, his Morehouse philosophy professor.
12 Dec The Reverend Melvin H. Watson, the son of Ebenezer clerk P. O. Watson, delivers the Seventy-eighth Anniversary sermon at Dexter.
Jan 1955 King and H. Councill Trenholm, president of Alabama State College, Montgomery, deliver eulogies at the funeral of Alabama State professor James Milton Reynolds.
1 Jan Coretta Scott King sings a solo at an Emancipation Proclamation anniversary celebration at Holt Street Baptist Church.
11-13 Jan King attends the national board meeting of the National Baptist Convention in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The featured preacher is the Reverend C. L. Franklin, who delivers the sermon “God’s Wheels of Progress.”
23 Jan King delivers the speech “A Realistic Look at Race Relations” at a meeting of the Birmingham NAACP.
2 Feb The adjourned session of the Alabama Baptist State Convention meets at First Baptist Church. On 1 Feb King gives the invocation at a service for the group’s newly elected officers.
25 Feb King delivers the evening inspirational message on the final day of the Montgomery Baptist Bible Institute at the Holt Street Baptist Church.
1 Mar Following the Reverend M. C. Cleveland’s sermon, King speaks at a mass meeting for the National Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board. The event, sponsored by the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Montgomery, is held at Beulah Baptist Church.
2 Mar Claudette Colvin, 15, is arrested for allegedly violating Montgomery’s ordinance requiring segregation on the city’s buses. King, Jo Ann Robinson of the Women’s Political Council, Rosa Parks of the Montgomery NAACP, and others later meet with city and bus company officials.
6 Mar Coretta Scott King gives a voice recital at First Baptist Church.
8 Mar Coretta Scott King directs a “talent night” featuring local youth as part of Dexter’s Youth Emphasis Week.
13 Mar King’s Morehouse and Crozer classmate the Reverend Walter R. McCall is the guest speaker for Youth Emphasis Week at Dexter.
The church’s Baptist Youth Fellowship holds a symposium on “The Meaning of Integration for American Society,” featuring among other speakers Dexter member Cleveland Dennard and the Reverend Robert E. Hughes, executive director of the Alabama Council on Human Relations.
20 Mar King delivers the Sixty-eighth Anniversary sermon at Ebenezer.
23-24 Mar King attends a meeting in Nashville of the Advisory Council on Literature and Curriculum, National Baptist Training Union Board of the National Baptist Convention.
10 Apr King preaches for Easter services at Dexter.
15 Apr King delivers the final draft of his dissertation to Boston University.
17 Apr At the invitation of the Reverend Marvin Gibson, King preaches at Union Baptist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
21 Apr King defends his dissertation before a faculty committee at Boston University.
24 Apr Alberta Williams King directs Ebenezer’s choir in a Sunday afternoon concert at Dexter.
27-29 Apr The Reverend Samuel D. Proctor, president of Virginia Union University in Richmond, gives a series of speeches for Dexter’s Spring Lecture Series.
30 Apr King serves as a resource and discussion leader at the annual state meeting of Hi-Y clubs at Alabama State College in Montgomery.
8 May King preaches “[The] Crisis Facing Present-Day Family Life in America” at Dexter’s Mother’s Day service.
15 May King delivers the baccalaureate sermon at the Alabama State College commencement in Montgomery.
22 May King preaches the baccalaureate sermon at Talladega County Training School in Renfroe, Alabama.
31 May The faculty of Boston University votes to confer the doctorate on King.
The Supreme Court issues an order to implement the May 1954 Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation ruling.
1 June The Reverend Archibald J. Carey, Jr., speaks at a citizenship rally sponsored by Alabama State College’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. King gives the benediction.
5 June King is awarded his doctorate from Boston University; he does not attend the commencement ceremony.
12 June The Reverend Major J. Jones preaches at Ebenezer.
19 June King preaches “Who Is Truly Great?” at Dexter. King delivers the keynote address at an Alabama NAACP regional mass meeting at Holt Street CME Church.
26 June King delivers a sermon titled “Discerning the Signs of History” at Dexter.
27 June–3 July King attends the National Baptist Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
3 July King preaches at Friendship Baptist Church in Harlem.
8 July–3 Aug King, Sr., Alberta Williams King, and Christine King attend the Baptist World Alliance meeting in London, England.
10 July Morehouse president Benjamin Mays is the guest speaker for Men’s Day at Dexter.
17 July King preaches “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” at Dexter.
22 July At the invitation of Dillard University president Albert W. Dent, King flies to New Orleans to discuss taking a position as dean of the new university chapel.
24 July King preaches “The Death of Evil upon the Seashore” at Dexter.
31 July King delivers “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” at the Tuskegee Institute chapel.
July King speaks on “The Three Levels of Love” at the monthly meeting of Dexter’s Young Matrons Club.
2–5 Aug King attends the Alabama Baptist State Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress at Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery. He serves on the Committee on Youth Parade with the Reverends Ralph D. Abernathy, U. J. Fields, J. C. Parker, A. W. Wilson, and other local ministers.
14 Aug King addresses the Montgomery NAACP.
18 Aug King hosts the monthly meeting of the Montgomery chapter of the Alabama Council of Human Relations at Dexter.
26 Aug Rosa Parks, secretary of the Montgomery NAACP, informs King that he has been elected to the executive committee.
28 Aug King preaches in the morning and evening for Men’s Day at the Reverend J. E. Moss’s Jackson Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, is murdered while vacationing with relatives near Money, Mississippi.
Aug The Montgomery NAACP submits a petition to the school board to integrate the city’s public schools.
6–11 Sept King, Jr., Alberta Williams King, and King, Sr., attend the annual meeting of the National Baptist Convention in Memphis, Tennessee. King, Sr., serves as a member of the convention’s board of directors.
9 Oct Lynette Saine Bickers, associate professor of education at Atlanta University, is the guest speaker for Women’s Day at Dexter.
16 Oct King delivers “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
17-23 Oct At the invitation of Dean of Students Walter R. McCall, King is the guest speaker for Religious Emphasis Week at Fort Valley State College in Fort Valley, Georgia. The theme of the week is “Christ in Human Relations.” King preaches “The Dimensions of a Complete Life,” “What Is Man?” “Going Forward by Turning Back,” and “The Death of Evil upon the Seashore.” He also participates in panel discussions on “How Christianity Affects Our Fears,” “Christ and Race Relations,” “What Has Christianity to Say About Sex Standards?” “Christ and Business Relations,” and “Christ and Our Physical Surroundings.”
30 Oct King preaches “The Seeking God” at Dexter.
7 Nov King speaks at the fall institute of the local Baptist Training Union in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
17 Nov Yolanda Denise King, the Kings’ first child, is born.
20 Nov King preaches “The One-sided Approach of the Good Samaritan” at Dexter.

In this Publication

To Ebenezer Baptist Church Members

King, Martin Luther, Jr. (Dexter Avenue Baptist Church)
November 06, 1954

Abstract of “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”

King, Martin Luther, Jr. (Boston University)
April 15, 1955

Author(s)
Clayborne Carson
Ralph Luker
Penny A. Russell
Peter Holloran, eds.
Publisher
University of California Press
Publication Date
1994