Rare vintage glossy 3.25 x 4.75 photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. in a sharp suit and tie, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, "Best Wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Ken Browne, From Martin L. King.” Reverse (now covered by the frame's backing) bears the photographer's credit stamp of Arthur Freeman of Montgomery, Alabama, and a typed collector's notation indicating that the autograph was received in 1957. Handsomely double-matted and framed to an overall size of 11.75 x 13. In very good to fine condition, with a few creases, two paperclip impressions (one to the top, the other to the upper right edge), surface impressions across King's forehead from typed notations on the reverse, and somewhat irregular ink adhesion to portions of the signature.
In 1957, Martin Luther King Jr. became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization formed to coordinate and support nonviolent civil rights activism. That year, he also delivered his first national address, 'Give Us the Ballot,' during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, D.C., advocating for African Americans' voting rights. Additionally, King played a key role in the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott, which concluded in 1956 and led to the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
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