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Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was founded in 1957 under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. This marked the beginning of the civil rights movement in the United States. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an organization of black ministers and churches that believes in pursuing their civil rights in a nonviolent manner, through boycotts, marches, and protests. After the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama proved to be successful in removing segregation on buses, the SCLC was formed. Furthermore, the legal strategy of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in pursuing change in segregation laws through the courts was a slow-moving, tedious process, yielding few positive results.
There were a number of leaders and activists who joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after its inception, including Ralph Abernathy, an ordained Baptist minister and a close associate of King’s, and Ella Baker, a promoter of civil rights for the black community. Another strong leader in the SCLC, Andrew Young, was later appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations. One of the most powerful leaders in the SCLC is Jesse Jackson, who became a prominent civil rights activist in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and whose voice continues to be heard today. |
The SCLC, through its leadership, has virtually eliminated segregation. The primary purpose of the SCLC remains, however, to seek equal rights through peaceful, nonviolent means. Martin Luther King III continues to uphold the dream to eliminate and overcome racial injustice and economic disadvantages for the poor throughout the world.
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