Parting the Waters (165 page)

Easter egg: Donovan,
Eisenhower
, p. 195.

“bourgie”: Int. David Briddell, Aug. 17, 1983, and George Thomas, March 7, 1984.

Scott refused: Int. Wilhard Williams, Dec. 8, 1983, and James Jones, Dec. 8, 1983.

“not down with it”: Int. David Briddell, Aug. 17, 1983.

largest wedding: C. King,
My Life
, pp. 84-87.

“I can't help myself”: Ibid., p. 85.

large cash settlement: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, May 30, 1984.

preached his way north: King to J. T. Boddie, Nov. 19, 1953, and King to J. L. Henry, Nov. 19, 1953, BUK15f49.

criticize both Tillich and Wieman: King dissertation, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman,” BUK; discussed in Ansbro,
Making
, pp.60-63.

DeWolf pressed him: For instance, on King's paper “Reinhold Niebuhr's Ethical Dualism,” DeWolf wrote: “I wish the critical evaluation had been carried further,” BUK15f20. The critical evaluation was King's conclusion that Niebuhr had overlooked the “relative perfection of the Christian life” and God's grace. To carry it further would have taken King to the heart of the difference between Niebuhr and Personalism.

Tillich replied: Tillich to King, Sept. 22, 1953, BUK15f50.

same question to Niebuhr: King to Niebuhr, Dec. 1, 1953, BUK15f49. Niebuhr to King, Dec. 2, 1953, BUK15f50.

talk with Dr. Mays: Int. Benjamin Mays, March 6, 1984.

Through his friend Melvin: Melvin Watson to King, Nov. 19, 1953, and King to Watson, Nov. 24, 1953, BUK15f50.

chapel of Alabama State: King to J. T. Brooks, Nov. 24, 1953, BUK15f49.

talked apprehensively: Int. Major Jones, March 7, 1984. Jones, who went on to become president of Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, was one of King's fellow graduate students at Boston University and a traveling companion on the long drives between Boston and Atlanta.

friend of theirs packing: Ibid.

annual Lynching Letter: NYT, Dec. 31, 1953.

Nesbitt into the kitchen: R. D. Nesbitt, Jan. 24, 1972, A/OH.

“
big
nigger's church”: Int. R. D. Nesbitt, Dec. 29, 1983.

“This is Vernon Johns”: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, March 5, 1984. Abernathy heard the story from both King and Johns that same afternoon in Montgomery.

Four
FIRST TROMBONE

Lucia di Lammermoor
: King Jr.,
Stride
, p. 15. King states that he was alone, but Abernathy recalls in some detail that he arrived with Johns. Also Abernathy interview by Smith, Dec. 3, 1963, SHSW/SP.

“the prophet's dinner”: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, March 5, 1984.

“food is smelling so good”: Ibid., along with description of dinner that follows.

“That was you, Brother King”: Ibid.

“if anybody can pastor”: Int. Robert Williams, April 3, 1984.

afternoon at the Brooks home: R. D. Nesbitt, Jan. 24, 1972, A/OH.

McCall wanted Dexter: Int. R. D. Nesbitt, Dec. 29, 1983, and Larry Williams, Dec. 27, 1983. Both Williams and McCall had been unsuccessful candidates for the pastorate of the Baptist Tabernacle in Augusta, Georgia.

Abernathy's for another supper: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, March 5, 1984.

preacher without a church: Ibid., and int. Rev. Marcus Wood, Oct. 4, 1983.

Benjamin Mays's offer: Mays,
Born
, p. 266.

“ontologically real”: R. D. Crockett to King, Feb. 8. 1954, BUK15f50.

succeeding a prophet: Int. David Briddell, Aug. 17, 1983.

threatening to hit him: Int. Rev. Marcus Wood, Oct. 4, 1983.

“Four Dimensions”: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, March 5, 1984. McCall preached for Abernathy that Sunday night.

“I can't touch King”: Int. R. D. Nesbitt, Dec. 29, 1983.

still friends: C. King,
My Life
, p. 108. Mrs. King wrote that King had pursued the Dexter pulpit only after McCall had assured him that he did not want to go there. By her account, McCall's disinterest combined with King's chivalry to eliminate all possibility of conflict, but in fact the two friends competed consciously and directly. McCall's remarks to King about not wanting the job were probably more in the nature of a face-saving device, delivered after each man knew the competition was over.

Chattanooga passed him over: Int. Major Jones, March, 7, 1984.

King moved cautiously: R. D. Nesbitt, Jan. 24, 1972, A/OH.

offered a salary of $4,200: King to “Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, R. D. Nesbitt, Clerk,” April 14, 1954, BUK15f49.

highest-paid Negro: Oates,
Trumpet
, p. 49.

On April 14: King to Nesbitt, April 14, 1954, BUK15f49.

quick meeting: Nesbitt to King, April 19, 1954, BUK15f50.

Lahey Clinic: Medical report, BUK15f50.

“Motivos de Son”: C. King,
My Life
, p. 102.

white Presbyterian church: Int. James Jones, Dec. 8, 1983, and Wilhard Williams, Dec. 8, 1983.

resign herself to Montgomery: C. King,
My Life
, pp. 106-12.

“run that church”: Ibid., p. 114.

showed shirtless: National Archives, Universal Newsreels, April 1, 1954.

Eisenhower commented: Ahlstrom,
Religious History
, p. 954.

percent of Americans: Manchester,
Glory
, p. 897.

King's first sermon: Nesbitt to King, April 19, 1954, BUK15f50.

bulletin at 12:52
P.M.
: Kluger,
Simple Justice
, pp. 700-708.

Barbara Johns: Int. Barbara Johns Powell, Dec. 9, 1983.

Eisenhower informed: Donovan:
Eisenhower
, p. 162.

James Reston: NYT, May 18, 1954, as quoted in Kluger,
Simple Justice
, p. 711.

Sherman Adams: Adams,
Firsthand
, p. 331.

Voice of America: Kluger,
Simple Justice
, p. 708.

Universal Newsreels: National Archives, Universal Newsreels collection.

“Angel of Dienbienphu”: NYT, May 25, June 7, July 27, and July 30, 1954. Also National Archives, Universal Newsreels, July 26, 1954.

“forgotten the Ole boy”: McCall to King, Aug. 5, 1954, BUK15f49.

too formal for his taste: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, March 5, 1984.

letter to McCall: King to McCall, Oct. 19, 1954, BUK15f49.

“Recommendations to the Dexter”: Evans,
Dexter Avenue
, pp. 71-79.

so far as to consult: See King to Thomas Kilgore, pastor of New York's Friendship Baptist Church, June 24, 1954, in which King wrote that he could see from Kilgore's annual report that “superb organization” is “the secret of your success,” BUK15f49.

“appropriately formulated”: Melvin Watson to King, Oct. 20, 1954, BUK15f50.

Another friend wrote: Major Jones to King, undated, BUK15f50.

up by five-thirty: C. King,
My Life
, p. 113.

played musical chairs: Int. Zelia Evans, June 8, 1983.

Morehouse Club: Int. Robert Williams, April 3, 1984.

played pool there: Ibid. also int. Elliott Finley, Dec. 28, 1983.

his blinding schedule: Evans,
Dexter Avenue
, p. 83.

“revolutionized” Dexter: Int. R. D. Nesbitt, Dec. 29, 1983.

more than $2,100: King to McCall, Oct, 19, 1954, BUK15f49.

Reverend King led: Ibid. Also Evans,
Dexter Avenue
, p. 82.

written Paul Tillich: King to Tillich, Oct, 19, 1954, BUK15f49.

Tillich replied: Tillich to King, Nov, 3, 1954, BUK15f49.

“revise my system”: Stone,
Paul Tillich's
, p. 131.

“What are you doing?” Alfreida Dean Thomas, Jan. 24, 1972, A/OH.

“not a God man”: Ibid.

“brought down the house”: Int. Thomas Kilgore, Nov, 8, 1983, and Gardner Taylor, Oct. 25, 1983. In 1954, King preached twice at Kilgore's Friendship Baptist and once at Taylor's Concord Baptist, both in New York,

“devil turns all”: King Sr. to King Jr., Dec. 2, 1954, BUK15f50.

Claudette Colvin: Account of the Colvin case drawn from various sources, including Yeakey, “Montgomery,” Clifford Durr, CRDPOH, and interviews with Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983, and E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983.

Clifford Durr: Durr portrait drawn from Durr,
Outside
, passim; Durr interviews, CRDPOH and CUOH; Durr papers and interviews, LBJ.

Highlander Folk School: Highlander sketch from Durr sources, Ibid., plus SHSW/ HP; Bledsoe,
All Hang
, passim; Fox,
Niebuhr
, p. 126; FHFS.

exploded in rage: NYT, March 21, 1954, p. 1;
Newsweek
, March 29, 1954, p. 26.

“nasty polecat”: Virginia Durr, LBJOH.

Women's Political Council: Virginia Durr, Mrs. Johnnie Carr, and Mrs. A. W. West, A/OH. Also int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983.

getting his doctorate: Dean Duncan E. Macdonald to King, May 31, 1955, and DeWolf to King, May 28, 1955, BUK15f50.

wanted King to become: Dent to King, July 25, 1955, BUK15f50. Also int. Samuel Du Bois Cook (president of Dillard University), April 4, 1984, and Cook to author, May 3, 1984. Howard Thurman dedicated the Lawless Chapel on Oct. 23, 1955.

came from Rosa Parks: Parks to King, Aug. 26, 1955, BUK15f50.

background and character: Int. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983, Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983, and Rev. Robert Graetz, among others.

Trinity Lutheran: Int. Nelson Trout, Jan. 18, 1984, and Robert and Jeannie Graetz, Jan. 18, 1984.

acquired the name Martin Luther: Int. Nelson Trout, Jan. 18, 1984.

“toward the South”: Acts 8:26. Reported in MA, Jan. 10, 1956, p. 4-A.

the Graetzes forfeited: Int. Rev. Robert and Jeannie Graetz, Jan. 8, 1984.

Juliette Morgan: Ibid.

see-through clapboard shacks: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983. The Smith arrest occurred on Oct. 21, 1955.

“leg to stand on”: Yeakey, “Montgomery,” p. 272.

“dollar buy so much”: Evans,
Dexter Avenue
, p. 80.

big baby girl: C. King,
My Life
, pp. 118-25.

Nixon, who called: Int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983, and Rufus Lewis, June 8, 1983.

tease his wife and mother: C. King,
My Life
, p. 122.

like Mary Jane: Ibid., p. 118.

Rosa Parks left the Montgomery Fair: On the Parks arrest, see King Jr.,
Stride
, pp. 43-52; Durr,
Outside
, pp. 278-81; Raines,
My Soul
, pp. 31ff; Yeakey, “Montgomery,” pp. 273ff; and Norman W. Walton, “The Walking City: A History of the Montgomery Boycott,”
Negro History Bulletin
, Pt. I, October-November 1956. Also int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov, 14, 1983, and E. D. Nixon, Dec. 29, 1983.

“make it light on yourselves”: Raines,
My Soul
, p. 32.

“Did they beat you?”: Yeakey, “Montgomery.”

“Go and get her”: E. D. Nixon, A/OH.

hem dresses: Yeakey, “Montgomery.”

“kill you, Rosa”: Ibid.

Robinson had grown up: Int. Jo Ann Robinson, Nov. 14, 1983.

marking the origins: King Jr.,
Stride
, p. 44; E. D. Nixon, “How It All Started,”
Liberation
, December 1956; Reddick,
Crusader
, pp. 124-26; Wilkins,
Standing Fast
, pp. 237ff; Raines,
My Soul
, pp. 33-45; int. E. D. Nixon, Dec. 28, 1983; Nixon, A/OH.

“let me think about”: E. D. Nixon, A/OH, and other Nixon interviews.

“the hottest story”: Int. E. D. Nixon.

broke up about midnight: King Jr.,
Stride
, pp. 47-48.

“It was me, Pastor Graetz”: Int. Rev. Robert and Jeannie Graetz, Jan. 8, 1984.

“mob of Georgia Tech”: MA, Dec. 4, 1955, p. 1. See also “Regents Give Georgia Tech ‘Green Light,'” MA, Dec. 6, 1955, p. 1.

“Negro ‘goon squads'”: MA, Dec. 5, 1955, p. 1.