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Camden New Journal - by DAN CARRIER
Published: 19 July 2007

Martin Luther King note adds weight to plaque calls

A PERSONAL message of thanks from Martin Luther King to anti-apartheid campaigner the Rev Michael Scott has been sent to English Heritage in a bid to overturn a decision not to erect a blue plaque on his Primrose Hill home.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the blue plaques board received an inscription by America’s leading civil rights activist.
It was written on the frontispiece of his autobiography addressed to Michael, and pays tribute to him for his work.
Dr King, murdered in 1968, gave the book, Stride Towards Freedom, to Michael. It was found by Lorna Richmond, his former flatmate in King Henry’s Road, and sent in as part of a campaign to persuade the conservation body to change its mind.
It turned down a request on the grounds that he was not as well-known as fellow anti-apartheid hero Bishop Trevor Huddleston, who has yet to have a plaque put up.
Dr King’s words read: “To Michael Scott, an appreciation for your great Christian witness, your humanitarian concern, your willingness to suffer and be persecuted for righteousness’s sake, and your unswerving devotion to the ideals of freedom and justice for all, with warm regards, Martin Luther King, Junior.”
An English Heritage spokesman said the matter had not been discussed further.

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