[AFRO-AMERICANA]. [Typed Letter Signed, On being chosen as Time Magazine's "Man of the Year," as President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), dated January 16, 1964]

Very good. Magnificent TLS, one page, 8.5 x 11, Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, 3-hole punch on left side, folded twice, evidence of rusty paperclip on upper left, boldly signed in blue ink by MLK Jr. TOGETHER WITH: copy of 2-page letter from the recipient, Earl Loganill, farm labor activist of McPherson, Kansas, to Dr. King, dated Jan. 5, 1964. EXTRAORDINARILY POIGNANT AND IMPASSIONED SIGNED LETTER FROM MLK JR. TO ONE OF HIS SUPPORTERS, OCCASIONED ON BEING CHOSEN AS TIME MAGAZINE'S "MAN OF THE YEAR." THE RECIPIENT OF OUR LETTER WAS AN EMPHATIC EQUAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND NAACP MEMBER IN KANSAS, EARL LOGANBILL; THE LETTER HAS AN UNBROKEN (truncated) PROVENANCE, AND HAS BEEN CHERISHED BY THE FAMILY SINCE IT WAS RECEIVED IN 1964.

Crushed by letters of support, King drafted the present text on Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, and signed an unknown number of copies, many of the recipients treasuring the letter and King's signature, as here. The text of the letter reads:

"Please accept my deep appreciation for your kind letter in reference to my being chosen by TIME magazine as its Man of the Year. It was very thoughtful of you to take the time to write to me in this connection, and I am deeply grateful for this expression of support.

"I was pleased that TIME considered me for this traditional honor and was willing to make liberal use of its pages in an assessment of the Negro’s constant struggle for full equality and human dignity. However, I must say that I sincerely feel that this particular recognition is not an honor to be enjoyed by me personally, but rather a tribute to the entire civil rights struggle and the millions of gallant people all over the nation who are working so untiringly to bring the American dream into reality.

"The fact that time took such cognizance of the social revolution in which we are engaged is an indication that the conscience of America has been reached and that the old order which has embraced bigotry and discrimination must now yield to what we know to be right and just."

[signature of Martin Luther King, Jr.]

Being chosen as Time Magazine's 1963 Man of the Year was one of the most recognizable honors in America at this time. The announcement was made in the January 1964 issue of the magazine: King's countenance duly graced the now iconic cover, and the civil rights leader became the first African-American recipient of this honor. King had already been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. The profound message of the present letter is nothing short of inspirational, and reinforces his legacy, which is permanent.

PROVENANCE: Earl Loganbill (1921-2004), by descent to -- his son Lorne Loganbill, from whom we acquired the present letter directly.

MARKET COMPARABLES: The last copy of this letter that appeared on the market sold EIGHT YEARS ago at RR Auctions ($9,375 including buyer's premium).

THE RECIPIENT OF THE PRESENT LETTER: Earl Loganbill was born into a poor Mennonite farming family in Central Missouri. Ever altruistic and idealistic, he spent his life trying to lift others by organizing farmer's co-ops, fighting for civil rights, encouraging non-violence, and generally taking up the various causes of disenfranchised and underprivileged persons of all types and races. In 1972, Loganbill founded a small weekly newspaper in Beloit, Kansas, outraged that another activist was prevented from buying a campaign ad in the local daily because he was a Democrat.

LOGANBILL'S LETTER TO KING: He expresses his gratitude that King was chosen as Man of the Year, "an accomplishment of the past year and the increased recognition of your unique contribution to civil rights [which] will spur us on to a greater fulfillment of the good cause for which God himself is earnestly yearning." Longtime farm labor activist, Loganbill presents his idea of introducing the consumer cooperative movement in the civil rights struggle. "It seems to me that economics and the economic alternatives which suppressed peoples have a lot to do with the progress that can be made. I am wondering about the feasibility of using a type of boycott which has been quite successful in the mid-west among farmers.

FULL TEXT OF THE LOGANBILL LETTER:

Dear Dr. King,

Congratulations on your fine accomplishments in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference! I am thankful for the honor bestowed upon you by Time magazine. Undoubtedly the accomplishments of the past year and the increased recognition of your unique contributions to civil rights will serve to spur us on to a greater fulfillment of the good cause for which God himself is earnestly yearning.

I speak as one who has been interested in integration for the last 15 years or so. In 1948 I played a minor role in the
integration of a swimming pool in Newton, Kansas. I belonged to a Kansas City unit of the NAACP where we lived for a while. I must confess that in recent years I have not been as active direct action programs as I should. I do follow with great interest all of the developments in the civil right movement and especially those that involve the non-violent approach.

I would like to discuss an idea that what very likely is not new to you. I am wondering if there is a place for the consumer cooperative movement in the civil rights struggle? It seems to me that economies and the economic alternatives which suppressed peoples have a lot to do with the progress that can be made. I am wondering about the feasibility of using a type of boycott which has been successful in the mid-west among farmers. We have built a system of cooperatives which as yielded independence and freedom as related to economics. I know the problems are different among city dwellers but the principle is the same. Cooperatives afford an opportunity for self help. I don't mean to suggest that the idea should be used to set black against white but rather it is a tool to generate self-reliance and individual responsibility in economic affairs. The cooperative principles as you know do not drew a color line. Membership is open to all. A cooperative would take the profit away from the exploiter and return it to the suppressed by way of the patronage refund.

Every cooperative should have a common bond that seals the people together in a common interest. The best common bond is need. It would seem to me that with this in view many negro communities would have the raw material for significant cooperative enterprises. Certainly good leadership is needed to develop such a program. Some capital also is necessary for the establishment of any business. However many of our farm cooperatives have grown strong financially from very modest capital investments by it members.

There are two aspects to the effect that a cooperative has on a community. One is what it does to the people who build the co-op. Another is the effect it has on other businesses who practice injustice. As a cooperative organizer for the Consumers Cooperative Association I have seen ruthless and unjust practices change over night at the prospect of the people organizing to serve themselves. In fact one of the greatest benefits of a cooperative is to serve as a balance wheel in the economic life of a community. One must warn however, that the co-op be so well planned and guided that it will not fail to survive.

I am wondering if some effort should not be made to survey some select areas where the negro communities would rally together in a cooperative effort to supply basic needs. The most likely place would most probably [be] in areas where non-negro business people are heavily predominant in serving the negro people. It seems to me that it would not take very many successful efforts of this type to begin to change the attitude many bigoted business people all over where there is a large concentration of negroes.

Cooperatives are noted for an emphasis on education of its members. It seems to me that the drive for [voter?] registration and the economic cooperation could compliment each other in a very wholesome way.

Perhaps the problems are too complicated for these ideas to be of value but I feel happy about sharing them with you.

Best wishes to you and your family. I am hopeful that we can move forward on every front in the struggle for justice, freedom and peace.

Sincerely yours,

Earl Loganbill. (Inventory #: 4292)