DescriptionFirst edition comic book titled "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story" printed in full color in December 1957. Comic book published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and Toby Press under the authorship and leadership of FOR's Director of Publications, Alfred Hassler. Mr. Hassler had assistance from Benton Resnick, the manager of Toby Press, who helped FOR connect with the comic book world.
Text on the front cover:
"How 50,000 Negroes Found A New Way To End Racial Discrimination"
The buses on the front cover are captioned "December 5, 1955 \ Walk To Freedom" and "December 21, 1956 \ Victory for Justice".
This comic book originally cost ten cents. In addition to telling the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, it also depicts the story of Gandhi and his nonviolent peace movement that helped India win its independence from Great Britain. The last four pages of the comic book illustrate in small vignettes, accompanied by text, "How The Montgomery Method Works," and explain to readers how to implement nonviolent peace actions into their daily lives to bring about social justice.
This image is not available online larger than a thumbnail to protect the copyright of its creator(s). For a more detailed examination of this item, please schedule an appointment in the Museum’s Reading Room.
Curatorial Commentary
The history of Martin Luther King andThe Montgomery Story comic book has only recently begun to be researched and understood. As part of his graduate degree at Georgetown University, a student named Andrew Aydin wrote the first long-form history of The Montgomery Story as his graduate thesis. With the help of Carlow University Professor Dr. Sylvia Rhor and a collection of letters at Swarthmore College's Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, Aydin established most of what is known about the comic's creation and use. In August 2013, Aydin published a shortened version of his thesis as the feature article in Creative Loafing's award-winning "Future of Nonviolence" issue, which was guest-edited by Congressman John Lewis and Aydin.
