Martin Luther King Decries Consciences Calloused to Racism and Poverty, Which Have Become “rancorous diseases in American society”

He promises people of color “will continue to strive for social reform and justice in America”

King movingly and inspirationally writes, quoting the Bible: “America needs a ‘voice crying in the wilderness.’ America needs a group that will challenge the self-interests of any group whether it be industrial, business, fraternal, social, racial, political or even religious…America needs a gadfly that will disturb any group that exploits any other group for its own selfish ends. America needs a needle to prick consciences that have become calloused to the vicious effects of racism and the crippling consequences of poverty. For too long someone or some group has failed to serve this function and that is how gross maladies as racism and poverty have developed into rancorous diseases in American society.”

He also defends his aide, Bayard Rustin, quoting him as saying “the Negro should rise as a monolithic class”

The recipient was ocean and earth scientist Frank Manheim, whose father was the only social scientist lined up to testify on behalf of the NAACP’s first Brown vs Board of Education suit

As a high school student in the late 1940s, Frank Manheim grew up with the same racist attitudes that were common to whites back then. He relates, “Kansas City Missouri in my youth was segregated in most respects: schools, restaurants, parks, swimming pools, and theaters; many residential areas had restrictive racial covenants…We experienced Blacks almost exclusively in subordinate or serving positions in local establishments, movies, radio, as well as in churches and universities where they served as custodians and cleaning personnel.” Manheim recognized that slavery was an evil institution but assumed there were kindly slave owners and felt that the South had a gracious lifestyle. Southerners were friendlier and cultivated good conversation in contrast to northerners. He states, “In the Jim Crow era in the deep South sexual stereotypes and fear of even minor challenges to white hegemony created serious consequences for Blacks. I was appalled by lynchings but for me African Americans were ‘others’, a separate part of American society. They looked different, and the respectful way they treated whites underscored their lower status.”

But there were some cross-currents in his life too. Frank’s parents were intellectuals, and his father supported the goals of the NAACP and was the only social scientist lined up to testify on behalf of the NAACP’s first Brown vs Board of Education suit, filed in the federal district court in Topeka, Kansas in 1951. Later, he began to meet black people and they defied the notions of the day, which led him to read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass. He “was not prepared for riveting accounts of life under slavery that defied stereotypes.” He writes, “Any stereotypes about Blacks went down like ten pins in the civil rights campaign events of the 1960s. The protest march of African American students in Birmingham, Alabama in May 1963 was famously met by fire hoses, snarling dogs and beatings by police under the leadership of Commissioner Bull Connor. The pictures horrified the nation. Many consider this a turning point in mainstream public attitudes. The final event that later triggered my letter was the protest march led by 25-year old John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama (Mar. 7 1965)…Another march mobilized by Reverend King two days later was turned back at the bridge.” By now, Manheim was a supporter of the civil rights movement.

The courage and commitment against forbidding odds by King and his associates had a powerful impact on Manheim. But Bayard Rustin, King’s closest advisor, troubled him. Rustin had strong moral principles and opposed discrimination. He joined the Young Communists’ League because of its claimed commitment to social equality and later became a leader in the Socialist Party. Rustin served two years in prison for refusing army service in World War II, and visited India to learn about Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent principles. Rustin was also an open homosexual at a time when this was widely considered a deviant practice and sodomy was illegal in many states. Realizing that he could be a divisive factor, Rustin avoided formal positions in the civil rights movement but was highly influential, helping organize the March on Washington, writing speeches, and guiding King in nonviolent policies and strategies.

By this point, Manheim was a marine scientist at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and in fact spent many years as a federal ocean and earth scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He would join an academic public policy institution in 2003. From Woods Hole, he wrote King in 1965 about his opinions having changed, praising the courage of the leaders and supporters of the civil rights campaign, while expressing concern that Bayard Rustin might create problems in achieving goals that I had come to appreciate and support. Manheim writes: “King’s surprising response to me was remarkably candid, nuanced, and eloquent. He acknowledged that that campaign needed to be on guard against alignment with the wrong groups. On the other hand, he emphasized that Rustin’s record convinced him of his sincerity and felt that America needed a “voice crying in the wilderness”, committed to social reform and justice. He said “America needs a gadfly”, and “a needle to prick consciences that have become calloused to the vicious effects of racism and poverty”. I later learned from comments by his associates that King had a gift of language that allowed him to express himself eloquently under practically all circumstances.”

King must have been impressed with Manheim’s letter, as his response is perhaps the finest content King letter we have ever had.

Typed letter signed, on his Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, Atlanta, November 3, 1965, to Manheim. “Thank you for your letter of recent date. I appreciate the concern you have expressed for the civil rights movement and the fear that it may become aligned with persons or groups which are not ultimately sympathetic to our goals of justice and freedom. This is a danger of which we must be constantly on guard.

“On the other hand, Mr. Rustin’s record in the area of social and political thought and action leaves little doubt in my mind concerning his sincerity. His contention that the Negro should rise as a monolithic class is the expression of the need for a group that will continue to strive for social reform and justice in America. Whether it be the Negro or some other social, ethnic or cultural group, America needs a ‘voice crying in the wilderness.’ America needs a group that will challenge the self-interests of any group whether it be industrial, business, fraternal, social, racial, political or even religious.

“America needs a gadfly that will disturb any group that exploits any other group for its own selfish ends. America needs a needle to prick consciences that have become calloused to the vicious effects of racism and the crippling consequences of poverty. For too long someone or some group has failed to serve this function and that is how gross maladies as racism and poverty have developed into rancorous diseases in American society.

“In reference to your concern for Mr. Rustin’s affiliation with groups pledged to overthrow the American government, I personally do not believe this to be true and recommend that you write Mr. Rustin and allow him to defend himself. Furthermore, it is necessary to examine the source of the charge. Your concern and support is greatly appreciated by all of us who are working in the area of racial justice.”

Manheim went beyond words to actions. Inspired by King’s letter, he looked for opportunities to further African American recruitment within the U.S. Geological Survey. Before retirement he was given a USGS “Star” award for minority recruitment.