TO MILLIONS OF LOYAL NEGRO AMERICANS STOP THE LONG AND CONTINUED DENIAL OF CIVILJUSTICE TO SOUTHERN NEGROES ESPECIALLY CRIES OUT FOR ACTION.
AS DOES THE BLOOD OF NEGRO SERVICEMEN WHO HAVE DIED HELPING THEIR COUNTRY DEFEND THE FREEDOMS WHICH TODAY THEIR CHILDREN ARE DENIED STOP MAY
THESE CRIES NOT BE IN VAIN=
23July
1958
REV MARTIN L KING JR PRESIDENT SOUTHERN
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
208 AUBURN AVE NE ATLANTA
GA=
PWSr. TCHP-MoU.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project
To Billy Graham
23 July
1 958
Atlanta, Ga.
On 15July, C. William Black,Jr., ofFirst Baptist Church in San Antonio, wired King
regarding a planned appearance of Texas governor Price Daniel at a Billy Graham
rally: “Weare appealing to you to wire Dr. Graham . . . and i n f m him that such
suppart o j a segregationist will do great harm to the Negro throughout the South.”’
In a 29 July letter Black thanked King for sending the following to Graham.
Rev. Billy Graham
The Billy Graham HDQ
San Antonio, Texas
Dear Brother Graham:
The Reyerand G. William Black, President of Baptist Ministers Union of San
Antonio, has called to our attention a matter of serious import to the Negro Ministers of that city. Namely, that the special invitation to Governor Price Daniel to
introduce you at the San Antonio Ralley on Friday,July 25th carries political overtones designed to humiliate the Negro citizentry of Texas ans the South.
If Governor Daniels is identities with you on the eve of the Democratic Primary,
July 26, in which Mr. Daniel is seeking reelection it can well be interpreted as your
endorsement of racial segregation and discrimination.2
Under the circumstances we would hope thatGovernor Daniels participation
on your program might be avoided. If this in not done, we urge you to make crystal clear your position on this burning moral issue. For any implied indorsement
by you of segregation can have damaging effect on the struggle of Negro Ameri-
1 . In his 1952 campaign for the U.S. Senate, Daniel ran on a states’ rights platform and won the
election without opposition. In 1956 Daniel was closely involved in rewriting the original draft of the
“Southern Manifesto,”denouncing the Supreme Court’sBrown decision. He served two terms as governor of Texas, from 1957 to 1963.
2. After securing his party’s nomination in the primary, Daniel won the governor’s race with sixty
percent of the vote.
457
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project
28July
1958
cans for human dignity and will greatly reduce the importance of your message
to them as a Christian Minister who believes in the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man.
Rev. Martin L. King,Jr.
President
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
208 Auburn Avenue, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia
TWc. MLKP-MBU: Box 27.
From Grady Wilson
28 July 1958
Charlotte, N.C.
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
208 Auburn Ave., NE
Atlanta, Ga.
Dear Rev. King:
Billy Graham has never engaged in politics on one side or the other. Governor
Price Daniel’s invitation to introduce Billy Graham in San Antonio was extended
by t h e ministers of that city. Dr. Billy G r a h a m a n d m e m b e r s of our t e a m were
there as the guests of those ministers. We never dictate to the local ministers
whom they are to invite or not to invite.We were surprised to receive your telegram
and learn of your feeling toward the Governor of the Sovereign State of Texas.
Even though we do not see eye to eye with him on every issue, we still love him in
Christ, and frankly, I think that should be your position not only as a Christian
but as a minister of the Gospel of our risen Lord.
Perhaps you should know that we received scores of letters and telegrams concerning your coming to our meeting in New York, and yet Mr. Graham was happy
to have you come as a fellow minister in Christ.
Cordially in Christ,
[signed] Grady
Grady Wilson
Associate to Billy Graham
GW/je
TLS. MLKP-MBU: Box 27.
458
1. Grady Baxter Wilson (1919-1987), born in Charlotte, North Carolina, was a boyhood friend of
Billy Graham. Wilson was ordained a Baptist minister in 1938 and later received a B.S. (1943) from
Wheaton College. He authored the 1959 book, Billy Graham as a Zen-agm, and was an advisor and
traveling companion to Graham for decades.