IVAN ALLEN
DIGITAL ARCHIVE EXHIBIT
" I do not think that any action by any elected official in the South has ever taken the courage that this must have taken and in the scheme of time,this is no small thing."
About Mayor Ivan Allen Jr.
A collection of pictures of Mayor Allen
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Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. (1911-2003) was the 52nd Mayor of Atlanta and played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights Movement. His actions transformed Atlanta into a more diverse and inclusive city. In 1963 Mayor Ivan Allen testified before the US Congress in support of a federal law requiring public accommodations to be made for African Americans which was particularly directed at hotels and restaurants in the South. As a result of this position on desegregation, he received a wide variety of letters from both sides of the spectrum. I will be highlighting a few letters expressing appreciation sent to him during these times.
Letters of Appreciation
This letter on the right was sent by a resident of Atlanta on behalf of both her and her husband. They greatly appreciate Mayor Allen for the courage and sincerity he displayed during his testimony. They knew that the amount of courage needed by the Mayor of a southern city to express his views on desegregation and simply wanted to ensure him that had the support of numerous residents of Atlanta. She ends the letter with the words “It isn’t easy to know what is the right thing to do or when to do it. But now is the time when we need courageous leadership. Thank you for doing what you did.”
Letter written by H.A. Pfifner to Mayor Allen.
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This second letter on the left is from a relative of Mayor Allen in Washington D.C. who feels sorrow for not being there in person to congratulate him on this achievement. She also takes this letter as an opportunity to remind Mayor Allen that despite the hate he is receiving a lot of people in the entire country admire him for what he had done and greatly favor him. On this matter she even says "I get around a great deal in my business and I have heard some very favorable comments." She also reminds Mayor Allen that he can reach her at any time in case he needs help with developmental projects in Atlanta.
Letter written by a relative of Mayor Allen.
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A six page letter written to Mayor Allen by Mayine Sandman
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Lastly, the letter above is truly a unique one by being one of the longest letters sent to Mayor Allen. Within this letter a woman tells her entire life story of how she and her husband had settled in Atlanta with the hopes of helping the less fortunate in society. She goes on to narrate the different acts of service they did in vivid detail ranging from adopting the homeless to aiding the disabled. She wishes to express gratitude to Mayor Allen by saying that they felt burdened by taking on so much upon themselves and were about to give up, but then Mayor Allen's testimony gave them hope and provided them with the motivation to continue. She ends the letter with the words "Then someone like you takes a gallant step foreward as you did this last week and were up and at •em again--~Onward Christian Soldiers ~"
Analysis
The three letters highlighted above are each unique in the sense that they represent a different stakeholder ranging from personal relatives to residents of Atlanta. All of these three letters when viewed collectively help us understand the reasoning behind why Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. received such a significant amount of letters expressing appreciation.
Firstly, the residents of Atlanta whom this law directly affected showed great support for his testimony as that bill ensured that they would have a better livelihood. This was especially important for the African American community since Mayor Allen's testimony supported a life without discrimination for them. Secondly, other individuals were simply content with the courage he had shown as the Mayor of a southern city in his testimony and they thought that deserved praise. For these people the focus was more on his actions and less on the actual content of his testimony. This can be seen in the letters where people have focused more on Mayor Allen delivering the testimony rather than praising his stance on segregation. Thirdly, the reason why his relatives felt the need to send him these letters was not only because they wanted to extend their support but also highlight the sincerity in his words. Lastly, individuals from different states such as New York, California, and New Jersey had written to him simply because they felt that morally speaking it was the correct decision.
Furthermore, lot of these letters of appreciation were written to ensure him that he still had a strong political backing .The reason for this was that Mayor Allen was initially hesitant about delivering the testimony as he thought that it would end his political career and that he would make a lot of enemies. While the latter was true, these supporters of his were writing to him to ensure that he also had a lot of political backing and that he was not alone.
Therefore, Mayor Ivan Allen’s testimony made an impact not only on people living in Atlanta but also in other cities because it was a step in the right direction for a more inclusive society.
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