History buffs, political fans and all those interested in the deeds of great leaders, will find an incredibly significant piece of Americana with this fully certified, period signed 1958 first edition book with the signatures of famous Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, Frederick L. Shuttlesworth and others. Complete description on our website.


In this age of great political divide and protesting athletes, it seems a perfect time to turn the clock back sixty years to take a look at the Civil Rights Movement. Seeking to put an end to segregation and the "Jim Crow" laws in the southern states, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his associates adopted a plan of peaceful protests. One of their most famous actions was the 1955-1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott. King wrote about this year-plus boycott of Montgomery, Alabama buses by African Americans in the offered book titled "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story". In 1957 prominent Civil Rights leaders such as Ralph David Abernathy and Frederick L. Shuttlesworth founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, with MLK as the organization's first president. These activists and others have signed the offered book, which ranks as a very important relic of this historic bus boycott and the Civil Rights Movement in general.

This 1958 first edition hardcover book reports in solid (EX-MT+) condition and is accompanied by its original dust jacket (GD) with MLK photo. What really makes this book important to the world of collectors are the (6) Civil Rights leaders' autographs located on the first couple of pages inside the front cover. These historically significant, period signed autographs average ("8-9") potency and are signed in order of appearance: (2) on the first page with Ralph David Abernathy (d.1990) MLK's friend and mentor and A.D. King (d.1969), MLK's younger brother; and (4) on the second page with Thomas Kilgore, Jr. (d.1998) with "God Bless You" inscription, F.L. Shuttlesworth (d.2011), Martin L. King (d.1968) and Mrs. F.L. Shuttlesworth with "God Bless You" inscription. Full photo LOA from PSA/DNA.

In an interesting side note, King was stabbed in the chest by a mentally ill woman while signing copies of this book in 1958 at a Harlem bookstore. Obviously King signed a number of these books and though several other signed copies are currently available, research indicates it is unlikely you will encounter another example of this book signed by such an amazing array of top Civil Rights leaders as those present in the book offered here.