I Was There By The Grace of God

Montgomery, Alabama: The S.S. Seay, Sr. Educational Foundation, 1990. Stated First Edition. Octavo. 23.5cm. Publisher's white rexine titled in gilt to spine and front board. Dustjacket. [xii]; 297pp +[1pp] Biographical information to rear. Bumping to corners and spine ends, some soiling of the white boards here and there, in a scuffed and rubbed dustjacket with some creasing to edges and some areas of loss, most notably the upper right corner of the front panel, and a small triangle of loss to the rear panel. The printing process used for the dustjacket seems to have resulted in a very easily scuffed and rubbed end result, with the majority of copies of this title showing signs of this. Internally clean, with a lengthy gift inscription to the pastedown from Nathaniel and Karen Jackson of Montgomery Alabama, along with a list of contact numbers for members of the Jackson family. A very good copy in a dustjacket that shows wear without surrendering durability.

The Reverend Seay was a prolific activist for civil rights in Alabama, beginning with his attempts in 1949 to support a young African-American woman in her case against two Alabama police officers whom she accused of rape. A few years later Seay was indicted along with 88 other activist protestors for his involvement in the Alabama Bus Boycott, and in 1960 he was once again indicted for his support of the Committee to Defend Martin Luther King and the Struggle for Freedom in The South, and their part in the March 1960 New York Times full page advertisement entitled "Heed Their Rising Voices.