Southern Christian Leadership Conference collection, 1963-1968

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Summary

Creator:
Southern Christian Leadership Conference and John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture
Abstract:
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. Its first president was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This collection comprises ephemeral printed materials and other reports about voter registration, protests, and the American civil rights movement, created by SCLC between 1963 and 1968.
Extent:
0.1 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13169

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises nine items printed or distributed by SCLC, including flyers, a request for contributions, memoranda, instructions, and reports. One report by Elizabeth Johns, titled "Refinement by Fire," details SCLC voter registration drives (1964). Other materials' topics include police treatment of Alabama civil rights protesters in 1963, the organization's work in Chicago (1966-1968), voter registration and "get out the vote" instructions for Southern States in 1968, attempts to address hunger and other issues for the poor, as well as federal legislation that impacted SCLC's work. Materials by Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, and Rev. T.Y. Rogers.

Biographical / historical:

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. Its first president was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The SCLC was organized in 1957-1958, by King and other civil rights leaders including Ralph Abernathy, Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, and T.J. Jemison, following the success of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. In the 1960s, SCLC advocated non-violent protests such as boycotts, citizenship schools, voter registration drives, and marches. It also supported civil rights campaigns in various regions in the United States, including Southern cities and in Chicago.

Acquisition information:
Most of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a transfer from Perkins Library. One item was purchased from Crow Hop Rare Books in 2025.
Processing information:

Processed by Alice Poffinberger, 2014. Collection guide created by Meghan Lyon, 2025.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 1960s (no known accession); 2025-0120

Arrangement:

Materials arranged chronologically.

Physical facet:
1 folder
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Southern Christian Leadership Conference collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m13n14