Southern Christian Leadership Conference Records

By Michael R. Hall, Graduate Processing Assistant, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

The SCLC collection has proven to be very rich in audio visual material revealing not only the diverse programs and events in which the organization participated, but also the early development of political and philosophical thought of some of its most recognizable figures.  Among the cassette tapes, vinyl records, reel to reels, VHS and DVDs, one can find recordings of panel discussions and speeches at National Conventions, demonstrations like the March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, involvement in national and international policy issues like health care, and public speaking engagements and programming.  In a series of three blog posts, I would like to note gems which I have come across while processing the collection’s audio visual material and illustrate the potential for new research and study which such sources offer. 

by Rebecca Sherman, Graduate Processing Assistant, Southern Christian Leaderhip Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

SCLC began airing Martin Luther King Speaks, a weekly thirty minute radio program, in early 1967.  The program, which initially aired speeches and sermons by Martin Luther King, Jr., was an innovative expansion of SCLC’s public relations efforts.  Following the assassination of King in April 1968, SCLC continued to broadcast the program.  The leadership of SCLC used MLK Speaks as a platform for publicizing campaigns and direct action efforts, with Ralph David Abernathy, Andrew J. Young, and other staff members frequently appearing on the air. 

By Sarah Quigley, Project Archivist, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

The records of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were acquired by Emory University’s Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) in 2007.  When MARBL received the CLIR Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant in 2009, I was hired to manage the processing of the collection.  Over the past year, my team has made great strides toward fully arranging and describing this significant collection.  I’ve been fortunate to spend these months working with an amazing group of graduate students who have dedicated themselves to making this collection available for research:  Becky Sherman, Michael Hall, Danica Tisdale and Brenda Tindal.

By Sarah Quigley, Project Archivist, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

Fred Taylor was born in Prattville, Alabama in 1942.  He was raised by his grandparents, who moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 1953.  Two years later at the age of 13, under the direction of his pastor Ralph David Abernathy, Taylor became involved with the Civil Rights Movement handing out leaflets during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Montgomery and went on to Alabama State University, finishing his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965.  In 1969, Taylor graduated from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia with a Master of Divinity degree.

By Sarah Quigley, Project Archivist, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, Emory University

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

Throughout its 53 year history, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has applied the tactics of nonviolent direct action to draw attention to issues of social and economic justice and affect change.  By conducting sit-ins, protest marches and other acts of civil disobedience, the organization focused public scrutiny on such problems as segregation, voter disenfranchisement and economic inequality. 

By Sarah Quigley, Project Archivist, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

Many know journalist Stone Phillips from his work on NBC’s “Dateline.”  However, many people don’t know that in the summer of 1977, he worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.  Following his graduation from Yale University, Phillips received a grant from the United Methodist Church to plan and implement a summer reading program for juvenile probationers aged 13-15.  The grant project was sponsored by the SCLC, and inspired by Fulton County Juvenile Court Judge Romae Powell who believed that there was a connection between reading deficiencies and juvenile delinquency.  The goals of the program were “to help each participant improve his or her reading skills, and…to promote self-confidence and positive self-awareness in each individual.”  Phillips and his supervisors believed that improving literacy among these teenagers would increase employment opportunities and foster an “understanding of the rights and obligations of citizenship.”[*] 

By Sarah Quigley, Project Archivist, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom:  Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans.  The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

Following Emory's commencement ceremony on May 10, 2010, Reverend Joseph and Mrs. Evelyn Lowery visited MARBL to view the exhibit "One Who Disturbs the Comfortable and Comforts the Disturbed:  Joseph E. Lowery and SCLC."  The couple was accompanied by their three daughers, Yvonne, Karen and Cheryl, as well as two grandsons and several other family members.  The group appreciated the opportunity to see exhibit and learn about the work being on the SCLC records, and the visit was enjoyed by all.