[AFRICAN-AMERICANA] [CIVIL RIGHTS] 3-page typescript for a speech given by MLK mentor and influential Baptist Minister Gardner C. Taylor, inscribed by him and presented to a friend by [TAYLOR. Gardner C.] - 1958

[not published], 1958. Staplebound. Fine. Three-page typescript, executed on thick onionskin paper, and corner-stapled. Two neat horizontal folds, else in fine condition. SIGNED by Taylor on the bottom of the first leaf, with an inscription to a close friend, "Aquilla, Love - Here 'tis. Thanks so much for calling. See you in a few days - with Rudy. Love G." (According to the previous owner, "Aquilla" is one "Aquilla Matthews," a minor figure who has a small amount of correspondence with Horace Mann Bond in the latter's papers at UMass-Amherst). Based on a brief reference to the Explorer 1 rocket launch ("the other day"), we can approximate the date this speech to February, 1958. The speech is a kind of "state of the union" for Baptist preaching in New York City, celebrating Billy Graham's recent revivals at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. Taylor spends significant time on racism, as well, writing:

"Many of us think that the great danger of our times is the frowning nemesis traveling on the sable wings of 20th century Science. During our Little Rock tragedy [likely referring to the Little Rock Nine -ed] a popular radio commentator said that the Little Rock situation was important, but the threat of Communism was even more important. Not so! We shall discover that the central, disputed passage of our times is color."

Taylor makes two references to himself being the "first black man ever elected to the titular leadership of our Great Protestant Council in the City of New York." Quite likely, this ogranization or some similar group is his audience, and one gets the feeling that he is not speaking to a crowd of mostly Black members.

Taylor was an early Civil Rights activist, and a mentor to Martin Luther King. The two co-founded the Progressive National Baptist Convention just a few years after this speech, in 1961, in an attempt to shake loose some of the rigid, conservative politics within the Black church. At the time, many Black churches were skeptical of the Civil Rights Movement, and urged caution and patience rather than action. After a contentious, even physical fight at the National Baptist Convention between followers of its president Joseph H. Jackson and Gardner C. Taylor (Jackson won), Taylor and King co-founded the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

An excellent, well-preserved signed typescript of an engaging speech by an early Civil Rights leader.