MARTIN LUTHER KING SIGNED MARCH 31, 1968 FINAL SUNDAY SERMON PROGRAM- PERHAPS FINAL AUTOGRAPH OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER.
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Item Description
After King finished what would be his final Sunday sermon he was ushered to St. Alban's School gymnasium on the grounds of the National Cathedral for a press conference. Michael Feldman, the consignor of this lot, was then a student at American University and had taken in the event with a friend. The two were headed home when fate intervened. As they passed the WTOP CBS TV crew scurrying to get into the press conference, Feldman noticed the trunk of their vehicle had popped open exposing valuable equipment and called out to let them know, they thanked him and as he puts it "Being the nervy kind of person that I am, I asked the reporter if he could get us into the press conference." After some trepidation the reporter allowed it and the group entered through a back door. Feldman was instructed to stay there and not to cause any commotion. At the end of the press event the moderator told everyone to stay in place while King and his group exited out the back door, the very one Feldman was standing by. He knew immediately he would be in position to be the first to speak with King once the group exited "...so I ran out and approached him and told him how much I admired him and asked if he would sign my program. He shook my hand and signed the program. He then departed with his entourage. As he got into his car and was driven away, no one else approached him." Feldman's thrilling brush with celebrity became magnified when four days later King was assassinated "...it stuck with me, as it has to this day, that I had touched this amazing man's hand just days earlier." The program remained in a book for some time and when later settled Feldman had it professionally framed, hanging it on his wall until he recently decided to part with it.
King was invited to speak at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC in part to defuse tensions around the approaching Poor People's Campaign, the SCLC planned demonstration set to begin in May. The campaign was a move towards economic justice, a second path of the civil rights movement with King having stated "We believe the highest patriotism demands the ending of the war and the opening of a bloodless war to final victory over racism and poverty." The demonstration aimed to bring poor people from around the nation to the seat of power for a dramatic demonstration in support of goals including the government's commitment to guaranteed annual income, more low-income housing and a commitment to full employment. His sermon this day took aim at the bootstrap myth reminding parishioners of the aid provided settlers in the Homestead Act- "It's all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps." He recalled the Bible story of Dives and Lazarus, reminding the congregation that Dives goes to hell not for being rich but for allowing his brothers to be invisible- "This can happen to America, the richest nation in the world. There's nothing wrong with that. This is America's opportunity to help bridge the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. The question is whether America will do it."
10.75x13.75" frame displaying float-mounted 5.5x8.5" thin cardstock bulletin. Bulletin features graphic of the cathedral tower and notes "Passion Sunday 31 March 1968" and has hand penned date in consignor's hand. Boldly signed at top right "Best Wishes, Martin Luther King". Faint age along top and right edges and minor handling. Exc. With signature remaining strong and displaying NM. Comes with a JSA LOA and a letter from consignor regarding the circumstances by which the autograph was obtained.
King headed off from Washington and spent two days in Bimini off the coast of Florida visiting Adam Clayton Powell and preparing what would be his final speech, "I Have Been To The Mountain Top." Leaving there he stopped in Atlanta before flying to Memphis April 3, 1968. That evening he delivered his final speech at Mason Temple. A drained King retired afterwards to the Loren Motel getting some much-needed rest. The following day before heading to dinner he was shot and killed on his balcony. The timeline leaves little space for additional autographs. In our research we could not uncover any other signatures on this program from King's final Sunday sermon and turned up no examples of any autographs known to have been penned later than the present offering, leading us to conclude that this is likely the last known King autograph ever offered for auction, and certainly the last known to us.
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