Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Lester Granger Urge Eisenhower to Take Stronger Federal Action on Civil Rights (1958)

Date: June 23, 1958

Created By: A. Philip Randolph; Lester B. Granger; Rev. Martin Luther King

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, Civil Rights

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Papers as President, DDE Diary Series, Box 33, June 1958 Staff Notes (2); NAID #186611

This June 23, 1958 statement presented to President Dwight D. Eisenhower by civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Lester B. Granger calls for stronger presidential and federal action to advance racial equality. The leaders argue that resistance to desegregation had produced violence, disregard for federal law, and growing frustration among Black Americans. They also warn that racial discrimination weakened the United States internationally during the Cold War. The statement acknowledges Eisenhower’s accomplishments, including federal intervention at Little Rock, progress toward integration in the armed forces, and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but argues that a broader national strategy was necessary.

The leaders present nine recommendations, including a presidential declaration supporting enforcement of federal law, a White House conference on civil rights, greater federal assistance for desegregation, stronger civil rights legislation, and Justice Department involvement in the appeal of Judge Harry Lemley’s decision delaying integration in Little Rock. They also call for stronger protection of Black voting rights, federal action against racial violence, extension of the Civil Rights Commission, and an end to federal funding that supported segregation. The statement concludes that clear presidential leadership and coordinated federal action were necessary to reduce racial tensions and secure constitutional rights for Black Americans.