Consultative Conference on Desegregation

The Consultative Conference on Desegregation was founded in 1956 with the purpose of facilitating "cooperation among the participating organizations in relation to problems of desegregation." 1 The conference did not participate in political actions itself, instead functioning as an organization through which participating agencies could reach out to each other. The conference also facilitated the issuance of joint statements by participating agencies wishing to sign on to such statements. Any organization that was interested in furthering the cause of desegregation was able to voluntarily join the conference. At the time of its founding, the conference had the following committees: Committee on Community Organization, Committee on Mass Media, Committee on Community Chests, Committee on Investigation, Committee on Liaison, Committee on Relief and Relocation, Committee on Interreligious Activities, and Committee on Structure.

The following organizations participated in the Consultative Conference on Desegregation: American Baptist Convention, American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Democratic Action, American Friends Service Committee, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, Catholic Committee of the South, Catholic Interracial Council, Congregational Christian Churches, Disciples of Christ Department of Social Welfare, Evangelical and Reformed Church, Jewish Labor Committee, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Community Relations Advisory Council, National Conference of Christians and Jews, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of Negro Women, National Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church, National Sharecroppers Fund, National Social Welfare Assembly, National Urban League, Presbyterian Church in the USA, Southern Regional Council, Southern Leadership Conference, Synagogue Council of America, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Unitarian Service Committee, United Automobile Workers of America, United Church Women, United Steelworkers of America, Women's Division of Christian Service of the Methodist Church, Young Women's Christian Association. 2

Footnotes

1 Constitution, Consultative Conference on Desegregation records, I-516, Box 1, Folder 1, Collection of the American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA, and New York, NY.

2 Organizations Participating in the Consultative Conference on Desegregation, December 23, 1958, Consultative Conference on Desegregation records, I-516, Box 1, Folder 3, Collection of the American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA, and New York, NY.

From the guide to the Consultative Conference on Desegregation, records, 1956-1960, (American Jewish Historical Society)