REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
(1929-1968) Clergyman and civil rights leader who advocated nonviolent but active and massive confrontation in order to obtain rights for blacks. Excellent typed and signed letter, one page measuring 8 1/2" x 11", on Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, dated Jan. 14, 1966. King responds to a plea from Mrs. Irmina H. Santabella, in full: "I was sorry to learn of the plight of your relative, Senor Gregorio Pedro Garcia y Garcia, in his incarceration in a Cuban prison, especially in light of his indicated poor health. I feel my capacity to assist him is limited by my lack of awareness of his case and by the fact that I am not a citizen of Cuba. Have you contacted the United States State Department? It seems to me that that agency would be much better equipped to give you information as to how to proceed than I am, given my limitations in this area." King signs in blue ink at the conclusion. On the same day that this letter was written, King led a mass march on the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, in support of state representative Julian Bond, who had been barred by the legislature from taking his seat due to his anti-Vietnam War views. On Dec. 5, the Supreme Court ruled that Bond's views were protected by the First Amendment, and ordered the legislature to seat him. The letter bears some folds, else very good.