ROBERT SPIKE

WHO KILLED HIM & WHY?

“Deeply saddened to learn of the death of our dear friend Bob Spike. His death comes as a great loss to the nation and to the fellowship of the committed. He was one of those rare individuals who sought at every point to make religion relevant to the social issues of our time. He lifted religion from the stagnant arena of pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. His brilliant and dedicated work in the national council of churches will be an inspiration to generals yet unborn. We will always remember his unswerving devotion to the legitimate aspirations of oppressed people for freedom and human dignity. It was my personal pleasure and sacred privilege to work closely with him in various undertakings. As we continue to grapple with the ancient evils of man’s inhumanity to man, we will be sustained and consoled by Bob’s dedicated spirit. Please know that we share your grief at this moment and you have our deepest sympathy and most passionate prayers for strength and guidance in these trying moments.”

— Martin Luther King JR
“I was deeply grieved and shocked by the news of the death of Dr Robert Spike. I knew him from association in the civil rights struggle. The civil rights movement has lost one of its most valiant warriors. The country has lost a great american; a great moral statesman and a great man. I join you in sorrow over this great loss.”

— A Philip Randolph, President, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
“May I express on behalf of the national association for the advancement of colored people and on my own personal behalf especially our profound shock and grief at the tragedy which has struck you. As a colleague, friend and devoted co-worker, Bob Spike had a place in our hearts shared by only a treasured few. We shall miss him greatly.”

— Roy Wilkins, NAACP
“Our heartfelt sympathy in your loss which is a loss for all of us.”

— Stokely Carmichael
“Mrs Humphrey and I want you to know how much our thoughts are with you and your sons. Bob was a good and dear counselor to so very many. His help, strength and firm convictions will continue in thousands of lives. We wish there were more meaningful and helpful ways to express our sorrow. The people of this country find their guidance and their leadership in the strong dedication of selfless men of Bob Spike’s stature. This is the loss that we can ill afford. Our prayers are with you and your family.”

— Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey
“I am deeply shocked to learn of the tragic and inexplicable and senseless death of your devoted husband and my dear friend. No one ever worked harder or more courageously and more in harmony with the principles of Christian brotherhood and justice than he. Your sense of bereavement and loss is shared by all who knew and admired him. My deepest sympathies go out to you at this moment. Please tell me if there is any way I can be of assistance.”

— Victor G. Reuther
“Thousands of poor people in Mississippi, many of whom would not even recognize his name, owe Dr. Spike a deep debt of gratitude for his work in helping break their bonds of degradation and fear. Those of us who knew him personally were filled with boundless admiration for his courage and dedication to freedom in the deepest sense of the word. At the time of his tragic death he was throwing himself into the struggle to save the child development group of Mississippi from destruction by the forces which he had spent his life fighting against. Men of Dr Spike’s Stature are not replaceable and America will not easily recover from his loss. We weep with you.”

— The board, staff, parents and children of the Child Development Group of Mississippi

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BRIEFING

Rag Radio 2017-01-13:
Paul Spike, Author of 'Photographs of My Father' & Bobby Byrd of Cinco Puntos Press

Thorne Dreyer’s guests on Rag Radio are author Paul Spike and publisher Bobby Byrd. London-based writer Paul Spike is the author of five books, including Photographs of My Father: A Lost Narrative from the Civil Rights Era about his father, murdered civil rights worker Robert Spike. Photographs of My Father, written when Paul Spike was 23 years old, was named one of the best books of the year in 1973 by The New York Times.

LISTEN

BBC World Service:
My Dad - The Unsung Civil Rights Hero

Paul Spike had a ringside seat on one of the most tumultuous periods in American history - the civil rights movement. That's because his father, Reverend Robert Spike, was a prominent figure in the campaign during the 1960s, supporting figures like Martin Luther King in the fight for racial equality. Reverend Spike was a white Baptist pastor who forged a new way for churches in the US to confront prejudice, but he was murdered in mysterious circumstances nearly 60 years ago. His killers have never been found.

LISTEN

The NYPR Archive Collections:
Civil Rights - Dr. Robert Spike, August 5, 1964

Dr. Robert Spike, Executive Director of the National Council of Churches' Commission on Religion and Race, discusses the Civil Rights training school in Oxford, Ohio (the same that Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner attended) and their work in Mississippi.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

LISTEN

DISCOVER PAUL SPIKE’S AWARD-WINNING MEMOIR, PHOTOGRAPHS OF MY FATHER

“Photographs of My Father has not been written as fiction. Paul Spike's father really was the Rev. Robert W. Spike, who, during a remarkable career as a white radical minister, ran Judson Memorial Church in Washington Square during the heyday of the “beats,” helped to organize the march on Washington in 1963, lobbied for the Civil Rights Bill of 1964, wrote parts of President Lyndon B. Johnson's voting‐rights speech, and fought for the continuation of the Child Development Group of Mississippi in 1966. This militant churchman really was murdered in Columbus, Ohio, in 1967, under circumstances that have never been explained.

We not only believe Mr. Spike's story and participate in its comedy, its terror, its extreme pain and ultimate triumph. We also can identify with the author to the point where we understand both his private suffering and the rage he finally vented against the system. Mr. Spike's story offers as clear an illumination as I know”

- The New York Times “Books of the Times: Praise Be for Non-Fiction”