TLS, one page, 8.5 x 11, Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, May 19, 1964. Letter to Alban Wall, a Pennsylvania-based poet and supporter, sending thanks for a moving poem. In full: "Your sensitive letter and the moving poem which was attached have been received and I wish to express my very deep appreciation for these expressions of your personal commitment to our search for freedom and justice. Without hope, all things become meaningless, and thus we who are so deeply involved in this nonviolent revolution must always keep in mind the conviction that our nation is moving towards its proper and pronounced ideal of real democracy and equality for all citizens. Support such as you have indicated provides us with additional strength to continue our struggle with ever-increasing vigor, and love for those who would perpetuate injustice. Thank you again for your letter. May God bestow His blessings upon you and Mrs. Wall and your loved ones." A carbon copy of Wall's poem, entitled "To My Black Brother," is stapled to the letter at the upper left. In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope.
Dr. King wrote this letter the day after he and the SCLC made their first visit to St. Augustine, where demonstrations to end segregation had begun the previous summer. At this time the Civil Rights Act was stalled in a Senate filibuster after passing in the House on February 10, 1964, and King and the SCLC hoped that their support of the protests in the country's oldest city would help garner national attention in support of the Act's passage. A month later, on June 19, the filibuster ended and the Civil Rights Act passed in the Senate. On July 2, it was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Dr. King would go on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize later that year.
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