sold – Martin Luther King, Jr. Begins His Storied Career

In 1948, King graduated from Morehouse College with a B.A. degree in sociology. That fall, he enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. He was elected president of the senior class and delivered the valedictory address, was selected the most outstanding student, and received the J. Lewis Crozer fellowship for graduate study at a university of his choice. He was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer in 1951. In September of that year, King began doctoral studies at Boston University. Upon completion of his classroom work there in May 1954, he accepted the call of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama to become pastor. He would complete his dissertation, "A Comparison of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Wieman," the next year, receiving a Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology on June 5, 1955.

King arrived in Montgomery and was installed as pastor at the church on October 31, 1954. He was 26 years old and this was the launch of his career. Even before taking over his duties, King prepared "Recommendations to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church for the Fiscal Year 1954-1955." In these, he presented his vision for the future growth of Dexter and his plans for accomplishing this growth. They were ambitious and foreshadowed his later work. He created such bodies as a the Social and Political Action Committee ("established for the purpose of keeping the congregation intelligently informed concerning the social, political and economic situation"), a Cultural Committee (“to lift the general cultural appreciation of our church and community”), a Welcome Committee (“to make its way to the visitors on Sunday and give them a sense of real welcome”), and a Building Fund Committee for the expansion of the church. He insisted that every church member become a registered voter and a member of the NAACP, and take an active role in the resolution of current civic/social problems.  Thus, his pastorate of Dexter proved to be the growing ground for his organizational skills, as well as his activism in the social, political and economic issues of the day. Soon these would catapult him into a national civil rights role.

One of the members of the church’s Welcome Committee was Mrs. Fannie Doak. She also quickly responded to his fund-raising request with a pledge and began making payments.

Printed Letter Signed, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, December 22, 1954, to Mrs. Doak, conerning both her pledge and the new program he had initiated. “This is to thank you for the pledge you made to the Unified Budget of your church. It is really gratifying to note the wonderful way persons like you have taken to the new system.” After noting that she has a pledge balance of $10 and requesting it be paid before the church’s financial statement is published, King says, “Our church program for the next quarter will be filled with many interesting activities. We are sure you will be among those whom we can depend upon for regular attendance and continued support…As we approach the end of another year and stand on the threshhold of a new year, may God’s richest blessings abide with you and guide you in your many activities.” The letter is also signed by church secretary Catherine Curry. Our research in auction records for the past thirty years failed to turn up another letter of King written prior to 1957, so this is quite likely the earliest letter of his to reach the market in many decades.

In 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to take a seat at the back of the bus. As a means of protest against such segregation, the Montgomery Improvement Association was organized on December 4, 1955. Dr. King was elected president. The nexr day the boycott was started. This was the catalytic event which started Dr. King on the road to become the leader of the civil rights movement in America. In November 1959, now a national figure, King resigned from the Dexter pulpit to move to Atlanta to direct the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Included with this letter is an original printing of the last annual report of the Dexter church under his stewardship, for the year 1958-1959. The cover of the 25 page report proclaims “Martin L. King, Jr., pastor.” The booklet contains a church directory (complete with phone numbers of the congregants), and has such lists as deacons and trustees, committees and committee members, Sunday school staff and new members. It concludes with a financial statement with pledges and receipts (the church took in $20,557.58 for the entire year covered by the report). Mrs. Doak, an involved parishioner, is mentioned a number of times. Included is a reproduction of the program from King’s 1954 installation. These papers hark back to the genesis of King’s career and enable us to see the young leader at work in his first assignment.