SCLCFounded in

1957

Jillian and Kaela

What is it

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was formed to coordinate efforts throughout the South. Their purpose was to work toward advancing the cause of freedom and justice in America through non-violent protests.

Why did it start

The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on December 5, 1955 after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. The boycott ended on December 21, 1956, with the desegregation of the Montgomery busses.

Martin Luther King, Jr. served as President and Ralph David Abernathy served as Program Director.

After the boycott, King and others established the SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to sponsor civil rights campaigns across the south. At a mass meeting after the supreme courts decision was announced, King declared, “The Red Sea has opened for us, we have crossed the banks, we are moving now.”

Who was involved

Martin Luther King: Led the non-violent approach to social change.

He met with President Eisenhower and Nixon, and attended the independence ceremonies of Ghana in Africa.

First African American to be named Time Magazines “Man of the Year.”

James Lawson: Worked to teach SCLC leaders about peaceful ways to resist violence.

Who was involved

Ella Baker: Made director to oversee everyday activities.

Theodophilis Eugene “Bull” Connor: ran Birmingham.

Where and When Founded in 1957 Attention turned towards

Birmingham, Alabama- nicknamed “bombingham” because segregationists bombed a lot of their churches and homes.

SCLC developed a plan to desegregate the downtown business district

By 1963 the SCLC had been unable to provoke a wave of Montgomery-style boycotts across the south, in part because many south cities desegregated their busses voluntarily rather than to be publically humiliated by boycotts.

Where and when

“Despite a bombing of the home and church of Ralph David Abernathy during the Atlanta meeting, 60 persons from 10 states assembled and announced the founding of the Southern Leadership Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration. They issued a document declaring that civil rights are

essential to democracy, that segregation must end, and that all Black people should reject segregation absolutely and nonviolently.” –SCLC National

Organizing was done at a meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 14, 1957. The organization shortened its name to Southern

Leadership Conference, established an Executive Board of Directors, and elected officers

Significance

“Despite a bombing of the home and church of Ralph David Abernathy during the Atlanta meeting, 60 persons from 10 states assembled and announced the founding of the Southern Leadership Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration. They issued a document declaring that civil rights are

essential to democracy, that segregation must end, and that all Black people should reject segregation absolutely and nonviolently.” –SCLC National

“SCLC is a now a nation wide organization made up of chapters and affiliates with programs that affect the lives of all Americans: north, south, east and west. Its sphere of influence and interests has become international in scope because the human rights movement transcends national boundaries.” –SCLC National