Hi Preston,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
I'm pretty good at identifying signature and don't recognize this. It may be an artist who had a limited life-span or art-making career so few of their works are known on the market (this is more common than you might think).
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

American School, mid 20th Century
"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr"
carved wood
the front of the plinth base inset with a plaque (wood? metal? leather?) identifying the sitter as Dr Martin Luther King Jr. ; the reverse inscribed/branded? with an unintelligible name and date.
13 inches tall, 8 inches wide, 5 inches deep
CONDITION: This appears to be in good condition
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$300-500*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia