Rare Tribute

On the subject of race relations, Atlanta has long been one of the South's most enlightened cities. But it was remarkable even for Atlanta that some 750 whites, including most civic and business leaders, should gather last week with about the same number of Negroes to honor the man whose name is synonymous with progress in the U.S. civil rights movement--the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Problems. The idea of a dinner for King came from several white and Negro clergymen and educators and Atlanta Constitution Publisher Ralph McGill. It met with opposition from segregationist bankers, as well as some of Atlanta's top merchants, who feared that their participation in the testimonial might cost them white customers. The Ku Klux Klan inevitably threatened to picket the affair. For a while things got so sticky McGill considered calling the dinner off.

Then to the rescue came Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. and, more particularly, longtime (1937-61) former Mayor William Hartsfield, who took to the telephone to round up support for the dinner. "I had to do a little selling job," said Hartsfield. "I reminded them that the whole town gave Bobby Jones a parade when he won the four golf titles, and that they had turned out for Dot Kirby and, 35 years earlier, for Alexa Stirling when each won the women's national golf championship. I reminded them that they gave a big welcome to Atlanta's war heroes too. Dr. King, I told them, was being honored as a Nobel prizewinner, not because he sat down at a lunch counter or picketed over in Selma."

Plaudits. On the night of the dinner, the Dinkier Plaza Hotel ballroom was filled. Said Mayor Allen: "Through the years, as history is wrought, some men are destined to be leaders of humanity and to shape the future course of the world. Dr. King is such a man. I take great pride in honoring this citizen of Atlanta who is willing to turn the other cheek in his quest for full citizenship for all Americans."

Moved to tears, King told his audience that the tragedy of the civil rights movement has been "the appalling silence and indifference of the good people." Said he: "Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and acts of the children of darkness, but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light."

The South's native sons, King said, are best suited to handle their own problems. Continued he: "This hour represents a great opportunity for white persons of good will, if they will only speak the truth, and suffer, if necessary, for what they know is right." Afterward, he remained for nearly an hour to meet whites and Negroes who stood in line to shake his hand.

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