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Program for a “Nobel Peace Prize Dinner” held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the Sheraton Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 23, 1965, signed and inscribed in black ballpoint, “To the Liggins, With Best Wishes, Martin Luther King Jr.” Sponsored by the Cleveland Civic Committee, the program identifies King as the “1964 Nobel Awardee,” having received the Nobel Peace Prize just three months earlier in Oslo, Norway, in recognition of his ‘nonviolent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population.’ Archivally double-matted and framed with a photograph of King at the March on Washington to an overall size of 22 x 16. In fine condition, with trivial soiling to the left side.
The inscription may have been intended for the Rev. Dr. Wendell T. Liggins (1914-1991) and his wife, Louise. A prominent Denver pastor and early civil rights activist, Liggins served for more than five decades at Zion Baptist Church and led local marches and protests for racial justice and expanded opportunity from the 1940s through the 1960s. He also maintained relationships with leading national civil rights figures, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964, King traveled to Oslo that December to accept the honor, becoming, at age 35, the youngest recipient in the award's history at the time. Just three months later, he was honored at this Cleveland dinner under extraordinary circumstances: on March 23, 1965, King briefly departed the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march, then in its third day, to fly to Cleveland for the fundraising event, with proceeds benefiting the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, before returning to Alabama to rejoin the march. Signed during one of the defining weeks of King's career, the program unites his Nobel recognition with his leadership of the Selma-to-Montgomery march.
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