KING, Martin Luther, Jr — STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM

New York. Harper & Brothers. First Edition. Early but not first printing of Martin Luther King's first book. Illustrated with photographs. Boldly INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front pastedown: "To:/Ruth/With Best Wishes/and Warm Personal Regards/Martin L. King Jr./Aprill 22, 1959." On the front endpaper are two further inscriptions, one dated 21 February 1959 and SIGNED "M.G.G.," and the other, dated 14 June 1959, by Theodore E. Brown, who at the time was the assistant director of the AFL-CIO’s civil rights department: "To a stimulating person/May you grow in wisdom and intellect/May you achieve man's greatest/quest; peace of mind and spirit./Theodore E. Brown." Brown is thanked by King for his "significant suggestions and real encouragement" in the preface to this book. Brown was appointed secretary of the Negro American Labor Council in 1961. As president of the American Negro Leadership Conference on Africa (1962-1968), Brown campaigned to bar American warships from refueling at South African ports. He later worked for the U.S. Department of State and the Agency for International Development. Laid in are two programs from Temple Sharey Shalom in Springfield, NJ, presenting an Evening with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking on "Revolution in Religion." There is also a 11 September 1966 program from The Union Baptist Church in Montclair, NJ, when King gave a guest sermon following riots in Atlanta and the arrest of Stokely Carmichael, the chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. "We have made too much progress through nonviolence to turn now to violence," King told his audience of about 2000. "The old eye-for-an-eye philosophy leaves everybody blind." Along with a few newsclippings about local ministers.. Chip to cloth at bottom of spine. Very Good in a Near Fine dustwrapper with typically sunned spine