From Julian Bond to Jondelle Jackson, 9 Feb 1972

February 9, 1972

Dear Jondelle,

Here I am, one day late, or really, a week late, with the party information. The idea was to raise money and win friends in Atlanta for the Free Southern Theater, a New Orleans based Black theater group that tours the rural South, giving plays for Black audiences who probably never get to see any live theater.

Arthur Ashe, the tennis pro, and Marty Reison, another pro, began the afternoon with a tennis exhibition at the John F. Kennedy center. In addition to playing each other, they also played doubles against some Atlantans, and I played agains Arthur Ashe for about five minutes.

That evening, January 22, there was a reception here at our home. About 300 people came.

One of the nicest parts of the day was a luncheon given by Mrs. John Lewis at their home. Incidentally, Count Jacksonn has some beautiful pictures of this in both color and black and white, and Mrs. Lewis has some too.

If I have some information about the FST I'll enclose it in this letter. The most impressive thing about the whole affair was the list of sponsors which is included in the invitation.

About the meeting with the Clubwomen, almost any time will do for me. You mentioned a weekend. Sunday afternoon, February 20 will be fine, or the 27th (before 5:00 p.m.).

At any rate, I hope you can put a story together from what I've put down above and from the material I'm including.

Sincerely,

Julian Bond

Mrs. Jondelle Johnson 413 Oak[illegible] Drive Southwest Atlanta, Georgia 30311