The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Afro-Americans - Social Conditions
Associated Archive Content : 159 results
Poster: This Store Is Against Equal Opportunities for NegroesThe SCLC placed this type of boycott poster on the storefronts of businesses that refused to provide equal job opportunities to Negroes. |
Preview of the "Dream" at Detroit MarchTwo months before the famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington, King used many of the same words, rhetorical techniques, and themes. King expresses gratitude and inspiration and warns against hatred and separatism at what he thinks is the largest US demonstration to date, a march in Detroit June 23, 1963. The legacy of slavery and segregation induced a false sense of inferiority in Negroes. |
Program of the Chicago Freedom MovementThe SCLC and the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) issues a program addressing the goals of the Chicago Freedom Movement. The Chicago Freedom Movement is composed of a coalition of organizations who have decided to eradicate slums, ghettos and racism from the city. |
Refinement by FireR. Elizabeth Johns describes the events surrounding voter registration in the South and tactics used by civil rights and opposition leaders. |
Remaining Awake Through a Great RevolutionDr. King delivers the commencement address at Oberlin College in Ohio on June 14, 1965. Nothing is more tragic, he says, than sleeping through a significant period of social change by failing to adopt the new mental attitudes that the new situation demands. He suggests that to remain awake through a great revolution one must embrace a global perspective and work for peace, racial justice, economic justice and brotherhood throughout the world. |
Resolution of the SCLC Board Regarding VietnamThis resolution of the Tenth Annual Convention of the SCLC, outlines the effects of the expansion of the Vietnam War and recommends future action steps for the administration of the organization. |
Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy's Statement Following MLK's AssasinationRev. Abernathy acknowledges the deep pain and anger those in SCLC feel at the senseless taking of Dr. King’s life. They pledge that his work and commitment to nonviolence will continue. They are as much against violence, says Abernathy, as they are against racial and economic injustice. He announces that Mrs. King will join him in leading a march in Memphis in support of the sanitation workers and that the Poor People’s Campaign will proceed. He calls upon Congress to respond to the major loss represented by Dr. |
Reverend Walter E. Fauntroy's Keynote Address to the SCLCReverend Walter E. Fauntroy's keynote address to the SCLC informs his listeners of the trials and the triumphs of African-Americans in the US. Fauntroy focuses primarily on the subject nonviolence and provides his listeners with a summary of the progress that blacks have made since the start of the Civil Rights Movement. |
Revolution In The ClassroomDr. King addresses the Georgia Teachers and Education Association about the education of children in the South. |
SCLC Newsletter: Solid Wall of Segregation Cracks at AlbanyIn this newsletter, SCLC announces integration in Albany, GA and believes that the city will soon face the legal death of segregation. They also inform readers of the arrest of SCLC Petersburg President, David Gunter. |
SCLC Program AreasThis flyer explains seven SCLC programs. These programs include voter registration, political education, citizenship education, Operation Breadbasket, direct action, Operation Dialogue, nonviolence and leadership training. |
SCLC Resolution on 1966 Civil Rights ActAt its Tenth Annual Convention, the SCLC Board adopts a resolution calling upon President Johnson and Congress to reverse a vote on Title IV (Open Housing) of the Civil Rights Act of 1966 that effectively permits discrimination in the sale or rental of private housing. It also faults the Administration for failure to enforce Title VI (Ban on Federal Funds for Segregated Programs and Schools) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and for inadequate appointment of voter examiners under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. |
SCLC Resolution on Afro-American UnityIn this resolution approved at its Tenth Annual Convention, SCLC affirms the need for Afro-American unity. The organization commits to conduct regional unity conferences involving all sectors of the Negro community, hold Identity Workshops on history and culture, and develop economic and political power so that Negroes can own and control their own communities. The resolution concludes by affirming the importance of black spiritual power, economic power, and political power. |
SCLC Tour of Northern CitiesDr. King announces an SCLC tour of Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. He cites the wish to establish communication with people in the black ghettos of northern cities and to assist local leadership in taking movement issues into their communities. He mentions the moral and material support provided by northern allies for the southern struggle and a time to reciprocate. |
SCLC: Tenth Annual ConventionThis program denotes the key leaders for the Tenth Annual Convention of the SCLC held in Jackson, Mississippi. It also outlines the timeline of events for the four-day convention, noting a foreword written by Dr. King. |
Scripps Howard: Dr. King Asks LBJ to Do As Hero FDR DidTom Talburt reports in this article that Dr. King urged President Johnson to create jobs and provide for the disadvantaged in order to prevent another summer of riots, such as the Los Angeles Watts Riots of 1965. |
Showdown for NonviolenceDr. King discusses the rationale and strategy for the 1968 Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C. He explains that the SCLC hopes to avoid a national holocaust by promoting massive nonviolent demonstrations. |
State of New York Civil Rights Bureau - 1967 Annual ReportThis is the overview of the advancements and achievements affiliated with the New York Civil Rights Bureau, in 1967. |
Statement by Roy Wilkins to CongressThe Leadership Conference on Civil Rights adopted this statement by Roy Wilkins, Chairman, for the opening of the 1967 Congressional session. Their agenda includes full compliance with all existing civil rights legislation, equality and justice in the courts, greater protection for those who exercise their civil rights, and an end to housing discrimination. Wilkins states that economic and social conditions must be created so that civil rights guaranteed by law can be realized. |
Summary of 1968 Harris Survey ResultsThis document summarizes the most recent Harris Surveys from 1968, reporting how the American people feel about President Johnson. Topics focused on include the War on Poverty, Vietnam, and Congress. |
Telegram from Berry Gordy, Jr. to MLKPresident of Motown Record Corporation, Berry Gordy, Jr., awaits Dr. King's decision on the album, "The Great March on Washington." |
Telegram from Governor Edmund Brown to MLKGovernor Brown writes to Dr. King protesting the brutal treatment of Negro citizens in Selma, Alabama. |
Telegram from Mike Bibler to MLKMike Bibler contends that "our lame duck president" can "do more for black people than any other man in history." This telegram was sent following President Johnson's announcement that he would not seek re-election. |
Telegram from MLK to Senator Aiken Regarding HousingDr. King urges Senator George Aiken and other members of the Republican Party to support an open housing bill to promote better living conditions in Negro communities. |
Telegram from R. T. Blackwell to MLKR. T. Blackwell informs Dr. King that he will be unable to attend an upcoming board meeting due to issues with a farmers cooperative proposal and a funding crisis. |
Telegram from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Chairman Guyot to MLKThe Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Chairman expresses concern regarding the SCLC's exclusion of "indigenous people of various political orientation in preparing the program" for the annual convention held in Jackson, MS. |
Thank you from SCLC to donor Dr. Jerry FlintDr. King is writing to express his deep appreciation for the generous contribution made by Jerry Flint. He acknowledges the importance of the continuous support of the contributors so that the fight for social justice and peace can continue. |
The A. Philip Randolph InstituteThe A. Philip Randolph Institute was organized to mobilize labor, religious and other groups in support of the civil rights movement. Dr. King was a member of the Advisory Board. |
The Kinship Between the Labor Unions and NegroesDr. King presents a speech at the United Auto Workers Convention in May 1961, which acknowledges the new challenges faced by factory workers because of technological advances that threaten to leave them jobless. He draws a parallel between the plight of auto workers and the Negro experiences of disenfranchisement in the US to highlight the potential for alliance between the two groups. |
The Negro In America: What Must Be DoneIn a full page of letters to the editor, civil rights advocates praise the Newsweek cover issue on the Negro in America for its analysis of the racial crisis and editorial recommendations for an emergency national program of action. |