Martin Luther King, Jr. in Riverdale: 1963 – 1968

Many people are unaware that Martin Luther King, Jr. had a presence in Riverdale dating back to 1963 and spanning the time covering the 1st draft of his most famous speech, “I have a Dream” through that of his assassination in 1968.

Clarence B. Jones, American lawyer and the former personal counsel, advisor, draft speech writer and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. was a resident of Riverdale for many years. In an article in the Washington Post (dated Jan. 16, 20111), Mr. Jones recalled the role Riverdale played in the drafting of the speech: ”

“It was the late spring of 1963, and my friend Martin was exhausted. The campaign to integrate the public facilities in Birmingham had been successful but also tremendously taxing. In its aftermath, he wanted nothing more than to take Coretta and the children away for a vacation and forget – forget the looming book deadline, the office politics of his ever-growing Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the constant need to raise funds.

But a date for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom had been nailed down – Aug. 28 – and Martin realized he couldn’t plan such a massive undertaking with the usual endless interruptions. No, if this march were going to come together in time, he would have to escape all the distractions. (This was a man, after all, whose best writing was done inside a jail cell.) He needed to get away to a place where very few people could reach him.

That would be my house in Riverdale, N.Y.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/14/AR2011011406266.html

According to Thomas Casey in a  forum posting dated November 29, 2022:

“According to an FBI log of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s August 1963 meetings with publisher Al Duckett (as told by Taylor Branch in Parting the Waters), Dr. King “managed to escape almost every day to the nearby Riverdale Motor Inn, where Clarence Jones had ensconced a writer named Al Duckett to help with crash production of the Birmingham book (Why We Can’t Wait).” (photo and text by T. Casey)

Photo of “Why We Can’t Wait”, by Nick Dembowski

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_We_Can%27t_Wait#:~:text=Why%20We%20Can’t%20Wait%20is%20a%201964%20book%20by,of%20America’s%20%22Negro%20Revolution%22.

On April 18, 1964, a rally was held at which MLK, Jr. spoke at the Fieldston School. While I haven’t yet uncovered more content on the substance of MLK’s speech, or that of others at the gathering, from the photographs of the event, it was obviously an important event on the MLK itinerary.

All photographs are by Peter Simon, acclaimed photographer and local resident: You can find these and other of the 1964 rally here: https://credo.library.umass.edu/search?q=M.L.+King+Rally

Ossie” Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. Regarded by Martin Luther King as “close personal friends,” Ossie Davis and his wife Ruby Dee were among the celebrities involved in efforts to publicize and fund the work of King.

Here he speaks at the 1964 rally, with Ruby Dee in the background.

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/davis-ossie-and-dee-ruby

Wyatt Tee Walker (August 16, 1928 – January 23, 2018) was an African-American pastor, national civil rights leader, theologian, and cultural historian. He was a chief of staff for Martin Luther King Jr., and in 1958 became an early board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He helped found a Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) chapter in 1958.
Walker became increasingly close to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement and later served as his chief of staff. In 1957 Walker helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).[6] In 1958 King chose Walker for the board of SCLC. Walker spent the next two years building the organization in Virginia by capitalizing on his network of relationships with clergy throughout the state from his activities with NAACP and CORE.[2] He also continued demonstrations and actions intended to highlight, challenge and end segregation.

Here Wyatt Tee speaks at the 1964 rally at Fieldston, with MLK in the background.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyatt_Tee_Walker

Audience members at the 1964 rally at Fieldston.

At 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968, Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. News of King’s assassination prompted major outbreaks of racial violence, resulting in more than 40 deaths nationwide and extensive property damage in over 100 American cities.

The Riverdale Press reported:

“Year of turmoil

In early April 1968 Riverdale joined to rest of the nation in paying tribute to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Flags were lowered to half-staff at public buildings throughout the community and many cars were seen driving with their headlights on during the day to pay tribute to the slain civil rights leader. News of his assassination stunned the community, as it did the rest of the world. Approximately 500 congregants from three Kingsbridge churches marched from one house of worship to another to participate in quickly-scheduled interfaith services.

Kay Mallon, one of the organizers of the march, told The Press, “We wanted to state openly our sorrow over Dr. King. More than this — neighbor met neighbor — with Negroes and Whites marching together.”

Four years earlier, Dr. King visited Riverdale and gave a speech at the Fieldston School auditorium, where he said, “An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.”

The feeling of solidarity and the desire to rise up against perceived injustices continued throughout the year.

Thousands of students from Fieldston, Horace Mann, Manhattan College, DeWitt Clinton and Bronx High School of Science participated in a nationwide strike against the Vietnam War. Community educators and students had set the day aside after a national movement had urged the world’s youth to protest American involvement in Southeast Asia.

In Riverdale, many teachers, students, and parents rebelled at the idea of actual protests and set up activities to discuss the war and its complexities instead.”

Date of this article unknown

https://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/riverdale-mourns-martin-luther-king,36548

On April 14, 1968, Riverdale gathered once more to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, once again at the Fieldston School.

Unidentified speaker at the Memorial

All photos by Peter Simon:

Vocalist at Memorial

Unidentified speaker at the Memorial

Audience at Memorial

Children at the Memorial

Choir at the Memorial

Audience members at Memorial

Woman and Nun at Memorial Service

For more Peter Simon photos of the 1968 Memorial service:
https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/muph009-vHG-sl038-i005

richnhill: all of that information is invaluable. Thank you so much for contributing it, it makes a world of difference for our institutional knowledge.