King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story” [Harper, 1958] 1st Edition

KING, Martin Luther, Jr. Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958. First edition, first printing, with "First Edition" and "H-H" on copyright page. Publisher's original blue and black cloth with silver spine lettering and publisher's device on front board, in original pictorial dust jacket featuring a photograph of King. Ex-library copy with evidence of removed labels and institutional markings. Boards show scattered discoloration and surface wear, including areas of adhesive residue and a larger patch of surface loss near the lower front board. Pages lightly toned. Dust jacket exhibits rubbing, edgewear, and small chips, with fading to the upper spine, adhesive residue on the front panel, and remnants of library labels on the spine and rear panel. Hinges secure. Very Good- in Good jacket.

The first book by Martin Luther King, Jr., recounting the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955–1956, a defining early victory of the American Civil Rights Movement. Written shortly after the boycott's successful conclusion, Stride Toward Freedom combines King's firsthand account of the 381-day protest with an examination of the philosophy of nonviolent resistance that would become central to his leadership. King describes the arrest of Rosa Parks, the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization of the boycott, and the legal and social challenges faced by Montgomery's African American community.

The book also provides one of King's earliest extended articulations of nonviolence as both a moral philosophy and a practical strategy for social change, drawing upon Christian theology and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Published five years before the March on Washington and six years before King received the Nobel Peace Prize, Stride Toward Freedom remains an important primary account of the emerging Civil Rights Movement and a foundational work in King's published writings.