Letter to Roberta Tate from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
date: label: Date
content: October 23, 1958
name: label: Written by
content: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
label: Received by
content: Roberta M. Tate, American, 1912 - 2011
label: Signed by
content: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
notes: label: Caption
content: This letter was sent as a thank you for a condolence message sent by Roberta Tate to Dr. King "in connection with the unfortunate incident he experienced in New York." The incident refers to the September 20, 1958 attack on Dr. King in Harlem, New York. While signing copies of his book, Stride Toward Freedom, Izola Curry stabbed Dr. King in the chest with a letter opener. She believed that Dr. King was conspiring against her with communists. Doctors were able to save Dr. King's life after hours of surgery.
label: Description
content: Typewritten letter from Martin Luther King Jr. to Roberta Tate. The letter is signed by King in blue ink and is dated October 23, 1958. The letterhead is printed in black at the top center, in a gothic font. The letter begins with "Dear Mrs. Tate: Thank you so much for the kind message / you sent to me in connection with the unfortunate incident I experienced in New York..." The back of the document is blank.
place: label: Place made
content: Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
label: Place used
content: Passaic, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Correspondence
label: Topic
content: Social reform
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1953-1961
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jyl C. Woolfolk
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.166.1
objectType: label: Type
content: letters (correspondence)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)