Southern Christian Leadership Conference

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is a national organization organized in chapters and affiliates that works for human rights across the world. It played a prominent role in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King, Jr. Origins of the SCLC can be traced back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 5 December 1955 after which leaders of civil rights groups met in Atlanta on 10-11 January 1957 to form a regional organization to coordinate protest activities across the South. The first convention was held in Montgomery in August 1957. The group adopted nonviolent mass action as the cornerstone of their strategy and opened the SCLC movement to all races, religions, or backgrounds. Past presidents of the SCLC include Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Joseph Lowery, Martin Luther King, III, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Charles K. Steele, Jr. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC organized the Poor People's Campaign to address issues of economic justice.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civil rights movement.[1] On January 10, 1957, following the Montgomery bus boycott victory against the white establishment and consultations with Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, and others, Martin Luther King Jr. invited about 60 black ministers and leaders to Ebenezer Church in Atlanta. The best-known member of the SCLC was Martin Luther King Jr., who was president and chaired the organization until he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Other prominent members of the organization have included Joseph Lowery, Ralph Abernathy, Ella Baker, James Bevel, Diane Nash, Dorothy Cotton, James Orange, C. O. Simpkins Sr, Charles Kenzie Steele, C. T. Vivian, Fred Shuttlesworth, Andrew Young, Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, Walter E. Fauntroy, Claud Young, Septima Clark, Martin Luther King III, Curtis W. Harris, Maya Angelou, and Golden Frinks.