Read Martin Luther King's Inspiring 1962 Letter
Beyond the appraisal — Read the 'intense and powerful' letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that moved our experts. This is the full, unabridged message of gratitude sent to a New Hampshire minister who risked everything in 1962 to do his part for the Civil Rights Movement.
In this moving letter from October 1962, Dr. King expresses appreciation to Rev. John Papandrew, a New Hampshire minister who had traveled to Georgia that summer to join the Civil Rights effort known as the Albany Movement.
Mar 23, 2026
At the June 2025 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW event at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, a guest brought in a letter of appreciation written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in October 1962, addressed to her father-in-law, Rev. John Papandrew, a Unitarian minister in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Earlier that summer, Rev. Papandrew had answered a call for Northern clergy to travel to Albany, Georgia, to support a civil rights campaign that came to be known as the Albany Movement. The stated goal of this ambitious effort was to desegregate the entire city of Albany, from its bus stations and lunch counters to its public libraries, parks and swimming pools.
While there, Rev. Papandrew numbered among dozens of ministers arrested during a prayer protest — an act of solidarity that Dr. King valued deeply.
"... one of the high points of the summer was the contribution rendered by our brothers from the North who came to share with us in the fight against injustice."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The letter is a fascinating snapshot of a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Written on October 10, 1962, it captures Dr. King in a reflective mood just as his direct involvement in the Albany Movement was drawing to a close.
At the time, some labeled the Albany Movement a failure because it didn’t achieve immediate, sweeping desegregation. However, King maintained that the movement "leveled the barriers" and formed a sort of blueprint for his successful 1963 campaign in Birmingham, Alabama.
Books & Manuscripts appraiser Catherine Williamson called the letter "intense and powerful" and suggested an insurance value of $50,000.
You can read the letter in full below.
Letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Rev. John Papandrew
October 10, 1962
Rev. John Papandrew
Unitarian Universalist Church
Portsmouth, N. H.Dear Rev. Papandrew:
For several weeks I have intended writing to express my personal appreciation to you for your marvelous witness in Albany, but the accumulation of a flood of mail has stood in my way. The smoke is gradually clearing from the non-violent battle at Albany, and as we assess the results we all agree that one of the high points of the summer was the contribution rendered by our brothers from the North who came to share with us in the fight against injustice.
A non-violent campaign toward social is at least a year long effort and in the deep South, probably longer. Albany is now in it's ninth month. We have amassed a nation-wide protest, and the world knows through Albany, exactly what the Negro's situation is in the South and the nature of their grievances. During the next few months we will be working toward reconciliation, the first opportunity for which is the coming election on October 26th. We have been successful in adding another 2000 voters to the rolls, so we are prepared. We now must depend on the moderate white community to join with us in creating an opportunity to establish a community of Justice. Your witness certainly did much to raise the right moral and religious questions for them. Let us hope that they have been sensitive enough to at least express an opinion for Justice in the privacy of the voting booth.
Your continued help and prayer will be greatly appreciated. You have now become sensitised to the problem in a new way. We are counting on you to discern some methods of action which will contribute to our national problem in race relations. Our nation suffers when Churches are burned or when mobs kill and ravish in protest of a single person of color being admitted to an institution of higher learning. Certainly this is the responsibility of freedom loving, religious people everywhere. We thank you for being sensitive to these concerns and giving of yourselves that we may walk together as sons and daughters of God one day soon in these United States.
I hope our paths will be crossing again in the not too distant future. I will certainly be keeping in touch with you.
With warm personal regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
[Signed] Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK:wm
Luke Crafton is ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's director of digital content and managing editor of the series website. Luke has been a producer with ROADSHOW since 2006.
