An authentic letter signed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is being sold for $95,000.
According to AfroTech, Moments In Time, which buys and sells original letters, manuscripts, and signed photos of important figures in history, literature, science, music, and other fields, is selling the letter. Dr. Martin Luther King, the SCLC’s first president, wrote and signed an analysis of the use of the N-word.
The words’ dark-skinned American’ constitute a vivid depiction of both citizenship and race just as you point out,” read a letter dated January 18, 1966. “I agree wholeheartedly with you that the import of that term is in salient contrast with the connotation attached to the word ‘nigger.’ The word ‘nigger’ carries with it a meaning deeply rooted in the debilitating racist case ordering of our society’s slavery and epoch and segregation era.”
At the time, the SCLC was mainly concerned with issues such as economic inequality, which coincided with the group’s launch of the Poor People’s Campaign in 1967, of which Dr. Martin Luther King served as president until his assassination in 1968.
“The term, ‘dark-skinned American’ often finds its way into my speeches and writing and, encouragingly, I notice it, too, in the usage of so many others,” Dr. Martin Luther King continued in the letter. “The use of that and similar appellations reflect both our great heritage and our devotion to a brand of Americanism of the highest order.”
The page containing the letter contains no information about how long the letter can be bid on or who else has bid on it. The cost of the letter is also available upon request. The Southern Poverty Law Center, Poor People’s Campaign, and the SCLC continue to fight for the same rights and freedoms that the civil rights activist and HBCU graduate fought for.