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To Warren Olney III
17 September 1956
[Montgomery, Ala.]
Olney replied to King's letter on 2 October.
Honorable Warren Olney III
Assistant Attorney General
Criminal Division
United States Department of Justice
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Olney:
This is to acknowledge receipt of your very kind letter of September
7. We are very happy to know of your concern with alleged denials of the
right to vote on the ground of race or color in the State of Alabama.
Enclosed you will find material to give concrete proof of the assertion
that Negro citizens of Alabama face insuperable difficulties in attempting
to gain the ballot. You will find enclosed a survey of voting practices
in the State of Alabama made by the Southern Regional Council. This is
the most authentic study that has been made in this area in the last few
months. Also enclosed is a list of all of the counties in the State of
Alabama designating the number of white voters and the number of Negro
voters. You will notice that in several counties there is not a single
Negro voter. In most of these counties the Negroes outnumber the whites
two or three to one. In one county, namely, Macon County, the officials
of the state have absolutely refused to appoint a registration board simply
because a number of Negroes sought to become registered voters.
We would appreciate your looking into this matter immediately. It is
my conviction that foremost among the civil rights of citizens in a Democracy
is the right to participate in the government through free exercise of
the franchise. If the Federal Government does not step in to assure this
right, it will probably never be given.
Sincerely yours,
M. L. King, Jr.,
President
MLK:b
enclosures
cc: Honorable Herbert Brownell, U.S. Attorney
TLc. MLKP-MBU:
Box 66A.
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