Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Richard Browne

The SCLC: The SCLC waas established in 1957 to coordinate the actions of local protest groups throughout the South. The SCLC was formed after the Montgomery bus boycott was successful. After the boycott, people wanted to expand protest efforts to other cities throughout the South and wanted to have an organization to coordinate other activities. The SCLC played a key role in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where MLK delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. The SCLC brought visibility to the Civil Rights Movement and laid the groundwork for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The SCLC is still active today and still fights for racial equality.

Founding Members: The founding members of the SCLC were Joseph Lowery, Fred Shuttleworth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, and Ralph Abernathy. Lowery was a minister of the United Methodist Church, Shuttleworth was a minister in Birmingham who fought against segregation and other forms of racism, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay right, and Abernathy was a minister who was an active leader of the Civil Rights Movement and was Margin Luther King, Jr.'s closest friend.

Presidents: Since its founding, the SCLC had a couple changes in leadership. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the first President of the SCLC and led it until his assassination in 1968. King was succeeded by Ralph Abernathy until 1977. Abernathy stepped down and was replaced by Joseph Lowery unitl 1997. From 1997 to the present, the SCLC was led by Martin Luther King III.

March on Washington: The SCLC organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march took place on August 28, 1963 and over 250,000 people attended the march. The march ended at the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the event that led to the creation of the SCLC. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a 13 month boycott of the bus transit system in Montgomery that led to the arrests of many, including Rosa Parks, who was arrested for refusing to get up out of a white only seat and go to the back of the bus to black only seating. The boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on a bus is unconstitutional.

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: The death of Martin Luther King, Jr. was a major blow to the SCLC. Many considered King to be the SCLC. King was succeeded by Ralph Abernathy, who was a respected member of the Civil Rights Movement, but did not have the status that King generated. Something Martin Luther King, Jr. did that not many could accomplish after him was the ability to publicize the issues the SCLC stood for.

Questions: Why did the SCLC not get organized earlier? What was the goal of the SCLC? Did the SCLC accomplish all of their goals? Which goals did they NOT accomplish?

Conclusion: The SCLC made a very positive influence on the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement and led to the passing of legislation that aided people fighting for equal rights and to end segregation and racist actions/practices. In today's time, the SCLC are still fighting for equality for all races and people.

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