M.P. Clark , September 1963

Item — Box: 8, Folder: 1

Identifier: 003.08.01.10

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Handwritten letter, written in blue ink, from M.P. Clark to James Taylor regarding his high school diploma. The letter reads as follows:

[The following is located in the upper right hand corner.] 1117 Goldwire St. SW. B'ham 5, Alabama. September 17, 1963.
[Main body] Dear James, Enclosed is your High School Diploma. Place it in a frame so you will always have it on hand.
Birmingham is in a state of fear and hate. Both races are raising particular hell. We motored to Knoxville, Tenn. Sunday, carring Harold to enter Knoxville College. On our way back we stopped in Chattanooga, there we learned of the bombing of the 16th St. Baptist Church during Sunday School time, killing four girls and seriously injuring a large number of people.

Arthur Shores home have been bombed twice. The last time his wife was seriously hurt. We all are ok. We are praying and hoping things will soon change.
I told Ernestine what you said about coming to St. Paul. She hasn't definitely made up her mind when she will come.
Has Martha Cheryl come back to St. Paul?
I received the deeds. Thank you. Love from all of us to all of you.
M.P. Clark

Dates

September 1963

Conditions Governing Access

Collections held within Hallie Q. Brown Community Archives will be open to researchers and visitors in the Fall.

Biographical / Historical

Arthur Shores was a Black civil rights attorney who passed the Alabama State Bar exam in 1937. In 1963, while advocating for the integration of public schools in Birmingham Alabama, his house was fire-bombed, twice.

Biographical / Historical

16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama was the first colored Baptist Church in Birmingham, organized in 1873. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, 19 sticks of dynamite were placed by the Ku Klux Klan outside the basement of the church. The following four girls were killed: Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair. Many others suffered injuries.

Extent

From the Collection: 27.93 Linear Feet (29 containers) : The collection is contained within 15 letter-size document boxes; 2 clamshell boxes,;14 flat file folders of various, custom sizes; and one Rollicord camera in a brown leather case. The collection contains mostly photographic materials, with some other graphic materials such as pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and written correspondence.