"STAND UP FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, STAND UP FOR TRUTH”

KING Jr., Martin Luther. Stride Toward Freedom. The Montgomery Story. New York: Harper & Brothers, (1958). Octavo, original half black cloth, original dust jacket. $2800.

First edition, first printing, of Dr. King's first book, an account of the Montgomery bus strike.

In his first book, King presents a full and personal account of the bus strike in Montgomery, Alabama. Sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white man, it was the first successful large-scale application of non-violent resistance to segregation in the United States. Non-violence, King reflects, "recognizes that social change cannot come overnight. But it causes one to work as if it were a possibility the next morning." With eight pages of black-and-white photographs. First printing, with publisher's code "H-H" on copyright page, indicating that it was printed in August, 1958. Blockson 4119. Gift inscription.

Book fine, dust jacket near-fine with mild wear to spine. An excellent copy.