Highlander Folk School: Highlander sketch from Durr sources, Ibid., plus SHSW/ HP; Bledsoe, All Hang, passim; Fox, Niebuhr, p. 126; FHFS.
exploded in rage: NYT, March 21, 1954, p. 1; Newsweek, March 29, 1954, p. 26.
“nasty polecat”: Virginia Durr, LBJOH.
Women’s Political Council: Virginia Durr, Mrs. Johnnie Carr, and Mrs. A. W. West, A/OH. Also int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983.
getting his doctorate: Dean Duncan E. Macdonald to King, May 31, 1955, and DeWolf to King, May 28, 1955, BUK15f50.
wanted King to become: Dent to King, July 25, 1955, BUK15f50. Also int. Samuel Du Bois Cook (president of Dillard University), April 4, 1984, and Cook to author, May 3, 1984. Howard Thurman dedicated the Lawless Chapel on Oct. 23, 1955.
came from Rosa Parks: Parks to King, Aug. 26, 1955, BUK15f50.
background and character: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983, Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983, and Rev. Robert Graetz, among others.
Trinity Lutheran: Int. Nelson Trout, Jan. 18, 1984, and Robert and Jeannie Graetz, Jan. 18, 1984.
acquired the name Martin Luther: Int. Nelson Trout, Jan. 18, 1984.
“toward the South”: Acts 8:26. Reported in MA, Jan. 10, 1956, p. 4-A.
the Graetzes forfeited: Int. Rev. Robert and Jeannie Graetz, Jan. 8, 1984.
Juliette Morgan: Ibid.
see-through clapboard shacks: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983. The Smith arrest occurred on Oct. 21, 1955.
“leg to stand on”: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 272.
“dollar buy so much”: Evans, Dexter Avenue, p. 80.
big baby girl: C. King, My Life, pp. 118-25.
Nixon, who called: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983, and Rufus Lewis, June 8, 1983.
tease his wife and mother: C. King, My Life, p. 122.
like Mary Jane: Ibid., p. 118.
Rosa Parks left the Montgomery Fair: On the Parks arrest, see King Jr., Stride, pp. 43-52; Durr, Outside, pp. 278-81; Raines, My Soul, pp. 31ff; Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 273ff; and Norman W. Walton, “The Walking City: A History of the Montgomery Boycott,” Negro History Bulletin, Pt. I, October-November 1956. Also int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983, and E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983.
“make it light on yourselves”: Raines, My Soul, p. 32.
“Did they beat you?”: Yeakey, “Montgomery.”
“Go and get her”: E. D. Nixon, A/OH.
hem dresses: Yeakey, “Montgomery.”
“kill you, Rosa”: Ibid.
Robinson had grown up: Int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov. 14, 1983.
marking the origins: King Jr., Stride, p. 44; E. D. Nixon, “How It All Started,” Liberation, December 1956; Reddick, Crusader, pp. 124-26; Wilkins, Standing Fast, pp. 237ff; Raines, My Soul, pp. 33-45; int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 28, 1983; Nixon, A/OH.
“let me think about”: E. D. Nixon, A/OH, and other Nixon interviews.
“the hottest story”: Int. E. D. Nixon.
broke up about midnight: King Jr., Stride, pp. 47-48.
“It was me, Pastor Graetz”: Int. Rev. Robert and Jeannie Graetz, Jan. 8, 1984.
“mob of Georgia Tech”: MA, Dec. 4, 1955, p. 1. See also “Regents Give Georgia Tech ‘Green Light,’” MA, Dec. 6, 1955, p. 1.
“Negro ‘goon squads’”: MA, Dec. 5, 1955, p. 1.
rattled even Nixon: E. D. Nixon, A/OH, and int. Nixon.
they reassembled that afternoon: Account of afternoon meeting drawn from interviews with E. D. Nixon, Rufus Lewis, S. S. Seay, and Ralph Abernathy. Also E. D. Nixon, A/OH; Virginia Durr, A/OH; Raines, My Soul, pp. 40-42; King Jr., Stride, pp. 55-58; Reddick, Crusader, p. 134; and Oates, Trumpet, pp. 67-69.
verge of approval: King Jr., Stride, p. 58.
from his conscience: Ibid., p. 60.
“into something big”: Int. Elliott Finley, Dec. 28, 1983.
“for serious business”: Recording and transcript of speech, A/KS1.
“runs down like water”: Amos 5:24.
Five
THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT
James Lawson: Lawson, MVCOH. also int. Lawson, Nov. 9 and 14, 1983.
Juliette Morgan: King Jr., Stride, p. 85; MA, Dec. 12, 1955, p. 4-A. Also int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov. 14, 1983, and William McDonald, Dec. 29, 1983.
simple decent treatment: Cf. letters from Frances P. McLeod, Dec. 9, 1955, MA, p. 4-A; Mrs. J. B. Rutledge, Dec. 9, 1955, p. 4-A; Helen R. Gross, Dec. 15, 1955, p. 4-A; Mrs. E.J.R., Dec. 25, 1955, p. 4-A.
One woman correspondent: Mrs. C.S. to MA, Dec. 15, 1955, p. 4-A.
first editorial: MA, Dec. 8, 1955, p. 4-A.
friend T. J. Jemison: King Jr., Stride, p. 57; Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 385ff.
call him Mike: See Jemison to King, Oct. 27, 1956, BUK8f29.
150 car owners: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 388.
40,000 Negro fares: Ibid., p. 527.
boasting of a victory: King Jr., Stride, p. 112.
“practically rubbing knees”: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 435.
At their next meeting: King Jr., Stride, pp. 114-19; Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 445-53.
“almost godly”: Jo Ann Robinson private memoir, cited in Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 451.
from start to finish: Int. W. Thomas Johnson, Dec. 29, 1983.
Six days before Christmas: King Jr., Stride, pp. 119-22; Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 454-60.
“terrible sense of guilt”: King Jr., Stride, p. 121. See also King speech of Dec. 3, 1956, pp. 2-3, BUK1f16.
“any queen”: BW, Dec. 20, 1955, as quoted in Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 463.
“feets is tired”: The story first appeared publicly in Tom Johnson’s profile of Graetz, MA, Jan. 10, 1956, p. 4-A. Also King Jr., Strength, p. 125. Part of the quotation later became the title of Raines, My Soul, derived from an anecdote described therein on p. 56. It is not clear from any of the earlier sources that King was the preacher to whom Mother Pollard spoke. This is doubtful, as King did not say so himself when telling the story.
“trade my Southern”: MA, Jan. 7. 1956, p. 1.
Daddy King’s sermon: Dexter church program, Jan. 8, 1956, BUK10f10.
Gray’s legal presentation: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 468-70.
“wear the other down”: Minutes of the MIA Executive Board, Jan. 12, 1956, Hazel Gregory Papers, cited in Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 470.
anything but a conventional: Hall portrait drawn from Hollis, Hall, passim King Jr., Stride, p. 176; Reddick, Crusader, pp. 163-65; Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 444, 489, 590, 595, 614; int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov. 14, 1983, W. Thomas Johnson, Dec. 29, 1983, and William McDonald, Dec. 29, 1983.
“who is behind the MIA”: Int. W. Thomas Johnson, Dec. 29, 1983.
nearly $7,000: MA, Jan. 10, 1956, p. 4-A.
next Saturday morning: Int. W. Thomas Johnson, Dec. 29, 1983. Also Dexter church program for Jan. 15, 1956, BUK10f10.
“sitting by”: MA, Jan. 18, 1956, p. 1.
rumor campaign: King Jr., Stride, pp. 22-24.
“tough on us niggers”: Int. William McDonald, Dec. 29, 1983.
protect them from the goon squads: Virginia Durr, CRDPOH.
like the Durrs: Virginia Durr, A/OH; Durr, Outside, pp. 282-84.
“stays off the buses”: Ibid.
Carl Rowan: King Jr., Stride, pp. 124-26. Also Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 482-85, and Rowan, Go South, pp. 130-32.
betrayed him behind his back: King Jr., Stride, p. 125.
a Holiness church: Minutes of the MIA Executive Board, Jan. 23, 1956, cited in Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 484.
all three names before midnight: Rev. B. F. Mosely, Baptist; Rev. W. K. Kinds, Presbyterian; and Rev. Bishop Rice, Holiness. Ibid.
“no noticeable increase”: MA, Jan. 24, 1956, pp. 1, 2-A.
“pussyfooted around”: Ibid.
“laughing at white people”: Ibid., p. 1.
“bunions and blisters”: Ibid.
offered his resignation: Minutes of the MIA Executi
ve Board, Jan. 23, 1956, Hazel Gregory Papers, cited in Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 481.
“drink my portion”: Int. S. S. Seay, Sr., Dec. 20, 1983.
NAACP lawyers in New York: Gray to Robert L. Carter, Dec. 10, 1955, cited in Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 502.
Durr warned Gray: Clifford Durr, CRDPOH.
ticketed them anyway: King Jr., Stride, p. 127. Also int. Rufus Lewis, Richmond Smiley, and Robert Williams.
seventeen tickets: Int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983.
too dictatorial: Int. Hazel Gregory, Dec. 22, 1983.
“Get out, King”: King Jr., Stride, pp. 127-31.
seven mass meetings: King, “Our Struggle,” Liberation, April 1956, p. 5.
corps of drivers: Int. Robert Williams, Elliott Finley, and Richmond Smiley, Jr., Dec. 28, 1983.
“Listen, nigger”: King Jr., Stride, p. 134.
“I’ve come to the point”: Ibid.
thank Roy Wilkins: King to Wilkins, Jan. 28, 1956, BUK8f14.
“transferred them stealthily”: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983, William Beasley, Dec. 20, 1983, and Rufus Lewis, June 8, 1983. Also King Jr., Stride, pp. 83—84. Those interviewed are not certain beyond doubt that the emergency transfer into the church occurred that last Sunday in January, but they remember it as shortly after King’s first arrest, as early in the boycott, or as about the time of the bombing.
“Come here, son”: King Jr., Strength, pp. 125—26.
raw energy: Ibid.
“house has been bombed”: King Jr., Stride, pp. 136-38. Also C. King, My Life, pp. 139-41; MA, Jan. 31, 1956, p. 1; Reddick, Crusader, pp. 134-36; N. W. Walton, “The Walking City: A History of the Montgomery Boycott,” Negro History Bulletin, Pt. I, October-November, 1956, p. 5; int. Richmond Smiley and Robert Williams.
“Don’t get panicky”: King Jr., Stride, p. 138, and MA, Jan. 31, 1956, p. 2-A.
“better to be a live dog”: C. King, My Life, p. 142. It is interesting that King’s own version of the wake-up after the bombing in Stride, pp. 139-40, does not mention Daddy King. He wrote only of a visit from Coretta’s father, while she wrote of both fathers.
to four cents: Donovan, Eisenhower, p. 385.
“nothing to do with that mess”: MA, Feb. 4, 1956, p. 1.
The police car: Rustin, Down the Line, p. 56.
white students rioted: Woodward, Strange Career, p. 155.
hundred-dollar bill: Irving Howe, “Reverberations in the North,” Dissent, Spring 1956, p. 122.
“it’s oiled, it’s greased”: Martin, Deep South, p. 39.
revoked his minister’s deferment: MA, Feb. 8, 1956, p. 1.
Senator James Eastland: MA, Feb. 11, 1956, p. 1. Also Martin, Deep South, pp. 39ff.
impaneled a special grand jury: MA, Feb. 14, 1956, p. 1.
1921 statute: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 516.
fingerprinted Fred Gray: MA, Feb, 19, 1956, p. 1.
“full scale racial war”: MA, Feb, 6, 1956.
still in Nashville: Int. Major Jones, March 7, 1984, and Paul Deats, Aug. 1, 1984.
Bayard Rustin: Rustin portrait drawn mainly from interviews with Rustin, Nov. 28, 1983, and Feb. 21, 1984. Also Meier and Rudwick, CORE, pp. 3-39, and Harrington, Fragments, pp. 68-69, 98-103; biographical sketch of Feb. 13, 1957, FR-NR, and other materials from the Rustin FBI file; int. James Farmer, Nov. 18, 1983, Michael Harrington, Oct. 27, 1983, Glenn Smiley, Nov. 14, 1983, and Irving Howe, Nov. 28, 1983.
Finn named August Yokinen: Howe, Communist, pp. 209-10. Also int. Bayard Rustin, Feb. 21, 1984.
“no retaliation whatsoever”: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 473-74.
“weather is warming up”: Ibid.
“cut off the head”: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, March 5, 1984.
“let’s all go to jail!”: Int. S. S. Seay, Sr., Dec. 20, 1983.
only two voted to end: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 475.
Abernathy formally notified: Ibid.
Rustin knocked: Rustin, “Montgomery Diary,” Liberation, April 1956, pp. 6-11.
raised the money: Raines, My Soul, p. 46.
phone to Nashville: King Jr., Stride, p. 143.
securing a loan: Fulton County Deed Book 3089. p. 326.
self-description in church programs: For example, the Dexter church program of Jan. 8, 1956, BUK10f10, which states that Dr. King Sr. “is leading the Ebenezer Baptist Church in an expansion program which will exceed $200,000.”
opened his attack: King Jr., Stride, p. 144.
115 Negroes had been indicted: MA, Feb. 22, 1956, p. 1.
there in the King home: King, Jr., Stride, pp. 144—46.
“Well, here I am”: Rustin, “Montgomery Diary,” p. 8.
actually traded jokes: Reddick, Crusader, p. 136.
“no vaudeville show!”: Ibid.
loan of $5,000: Rustin to King, May 9, 1956, BUK8f34.
second consecutive night walk: Rustin, “Montgomery Diary,” pp. 8-9.
Le Figaro: Int. Rev. Robert Graetz, and Glenn Smiley, Nov, 14, 1983. Also Rustin to King, March 8, 1956, BUK1f29.
“wouldn’t be alive”: “Montgomery Diary,” p. 9.
twenty-fourth minister: MA, Feb. 24, 1956, p. 1.
five prayers: “Montgomery Diary,” p. 9.
thirty-five reporters: MA, Feb. 24, 1956, p. 1.
called John Swomley: Int. Glenn Smiley, Nov. 14, 1984.
Rustin attended Dexter: “Montgomery Diary,” p. 10.
history of the boycott: Rustin prepared an article on the origins of the boycott, which appeared under King’s name as “Our Struggle,” Liberation, April 1956, p. 5. This was the first of many works for which King used collaborators or ghostwriters.
Coretta remembered: C. King, My Life, p. 148.
offering a reward: See Rustin to King, March 8, 1956, BUK1f29.
threatening to expose Rustin: Int. Glenn Smiley, Nov. 14, 1984, and Rev. Robert Graetz. Smiley says he heard this story through Swomley and Muste and later again from King. Graetz says he heard it at MIA meetings. Both identify the reporter as Emory Jackson of the Birmingham World. Jackson, a powerful figure in the Alabama NAACP, covered the boycott from its inception.
rather sad briefing: Int. Glenn Smiley, Nov. 14, 1984.
smuggled to Birmingham: Raines, My Soul, p. 48.
mild-mannered white Methodist: Int. Bayard Rustin, Nov. 28, 1983; James Lawson, Nov. 14, 1983; Glenn Smiley, Nov. 14, 1983.
“Don’t bother me”: Int. Glenn Smiley, Nov. 14, 1983.
pig’s-ear sandwiches: Ibid., and int. Rev. Robert Graetz.
Rabb summoned: Morrow, Black Man, p. 33.
not be sworn in: Ibid., p. 199.
influence was pervasive: Ibid., p. 36.
classified briefing: Minutes of cabinet meeting of March 9, 1956, copy of Hoover’s briefing paper, and selected quotations of the President, Cabinet Series, Box 6, DDE. Also discussed in Adams, Firsthand, pp. 336ff, and Donovan, Eisenhower, pp. 390ff.
Johnson was saying: Miller, Lyndon, p. 228.
submitted to Congress: Adams, Firsthand, p. 338. The bill went to Congress on April 9, 1956.
“the dumbest act”: Grover Hall draft article, dated July 16, 1956, BUK5f176. It appears that Hall sent the draft to King, which is interesting in itself.
“duenna and Indian guide”: Ibid.
“cat’s-paw”: Reddick, Crusader, p. 152.
“so soree”: Hall draft, July 16, 1956, BUK5f76.
Eight lawyers: NYT, March 20, 1956, p. 24.
could not recall: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 523-25.
Graetz testified: Ibid.
4:39 P.M.: NYT, March 23, 1956, p. 28.
“Behold the King!”: Ibid.
“King is King!”: Reddick, Crusader, p. 145.
“nailed to the cross”: Ibid.
“heap on me”: NYT, March 23, 1956, p. 28.
which he doubted: Reddick, Crusader, p. 147.
“Modern Moses”: Jet, April 12, 1956.
“particular
ly well read”: NYT, March 21, 1956.
“for the Brooklyn Dodgers”: NYAN, March 31, 1956, pp. 1, 18-20.
first solo album: Shaw, Belafonte, p. 228.
“I need your help”: Int. Harry Belafonte, March 6-7, 1985.
“in the name of our movement”: King to Wilkins, March 3, 1956, BUK8f14. King’s friend Kelly Miller Smith, among others, wrote King that his local NAACP branch was taking up a collection for the MIA. Smith to King, Feb. 25,1956, BUK15f50.
“would be fatal”: Wilkins to King, March 8, 1956, BUK8f14.
droll statement: NYT, March 21, 1956, p. 24.
notified King: Wilkins to King, April 12, 1956, BUK8f14.
“our dependence”: King to Wilkins, May 1, 1956, BUK8f14.
Wilkins had invited King: Wilkins to King, May 8, 1956, BUK8f14.
eight years and several trips: BN, June 1, 1956, p. 1. Also Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 575-85.
other Southern states: Wilkins, Standing Fast, pp. 241-43.
most unusual and significant: Shuttlesworth characterization drawn from Shuttlesworth, A/OH and CRDPOH.
running the family still: Ibid. Also Shuttlesworth arrest record dated Oct. 16, 1963, BIR/AB21f23.
“too egotistical”: MA, June 12, 1956, p. 1.
Fields believed: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 550-60; int. Uriah J. Fields, Nov. 12, 1983. Fields has since relocated to Los Angeles, left the Baptist clergy, and opened a California-style personal improvement counseling center. His latest book as of 1983 was Be the Best, Do It Easy, Do It Now.
strip him of the pastorate: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 553. Fields regained his pulpit by going to court and later winning a vote of reinstatement.
aborted his California vacation: King Jr., Stride, pp. 153-57.
elements of truth: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 546-50.
Evers invited: Medgar Evers to King, July 31,1956, BUK8f12.
annoyed Thurgood Marshall: Reddick, Crusader, p. 153. Also Hall draft, July 16, 1956, BUK5f176.
“careful consideration”: Wilkins, Standing Fast, p. 238.
Prettiest Baby: Dexter Echo, July 18, 1956, BUK10f13.
FLASH: Dexter Echo, Aug. 6, 1956, BUK10f13.
“spotlight off me”: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983.
“supreme moral issues”: King statement, Aug. 11, 1956, A/KS1.
give enough credit: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983.
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