Statements of demands for rights of the poor, presented to agencies of the U.S. government by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and its Committee of One Hundred, 1968 (original) (raw)

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Summary

This collection contains a 57-page document of demands made by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Poor People's Campaign (PPC) to each department of the U.S. government in 1968. The spokesman was SCLC president at the time Ralph Abernathy, who was the successor to Martin Luther King, Jr. The demands are on behalf of the Poor People's Campaign, with the purpose of bringing to light the conditions of the American poor. The statements were made 29-30 April 1968 in Washington, D. C.

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In Historical Collections and Labor Archives, University Libraries, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. (# XXXX-0472H/HCVF)

Biographical or Historical Sketch

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.

Binding notes

Housed in Share Box 017
boxShare017 GST/P/1/3 c.1 (Archival/Manuscript Material) bound in ShareBox 017