On November 10, 1960, Bethel College and Seminary’s president, Carl H. Lundquist, wrote a letter to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the letter he asks him if he is still coming to the college to speak on December 1st of that year. In the letter Mr. Lundquist mentions that there was some kind of controversy that happened recently to Dr. King. He also says that the school is hopeful that it was from God to “intensify the Christian spirit you have demonstrated so often in the past…”. More than likely there was some sort of act of bigotry that happened to Dr. King while he was in Atlanta, Georgia, which is where the letter is addressed to.

The letter that Mr. Lundquist writes also mentions that if Dr. King feels that the two speeches and luncheon is too much then he should say something. He also asks him what his plans are for travelling so that Bethel will be able to take care of him. Mr. Lundquist ends the letter with the following sentence: “Christian forces of America find an adequate solution to the race problem”. Also, in the November 23, 1960 edition of the “Clarion”, it states “Dr. King will address the group on the general topic of Race Relations at the morning convocation. In the evening he will speak on the topic, “Paul’s Epistle to Twentieth Century Christians.” The “Clarion also states “While Bethel and the audience may not share all of the ideas of our guests, we believe that they will help provide a stimulating climate for the vigorous intellectual growth that should characterize a Christian center of higher education”.

While everything seemed scheduled and nearly ready to go, something happened that made it impossible for Dr. King to make it to Bethel. This was very controversial because in the letter, it seems as if everything is ready to go and they just needed to finalize the visit. Something very serious must have happened for Dr. King for him to not be able to make it. There is also a possibility that there were just more important things to do than talk to a small private school in the middle of Minnesota. With this letter being written in the 1960’s, it is safe to assume that Dr. King knew that it was not appropriate to do a speech at a small college when race relations were so bad in the United States and he was the leader of the movement. Because of him being the leader of the civil rights movement, he probably had letters from nearly every college asking him to speak there. While Dr. King was obviously a very busy man, it still must have been embarrassing to Mr. Lundquist to say that plans were to have Dr. King come into Bethel and give a few speeches and have lunch, and then have Dr. King not be able to come in. It is very understandable for Dr. King to not be able to come to Bethel because there was just so much going on that he knew there were more important things to do, yet at the same time it is also understandable for Mr. Lundquist to be a little upset because the letter he wrote made it seem like it was going to happen and it only needed some finalizations, and then Dr. King was not able to make it. Mr. Lundquist probable had to jump quite a few hurdles just to be able to contact Dr. King and get it approved for him to come into the school, and then to have Dr. King not be able to make it must have been hard on him.