SCLC ORGANIZED

The S.N.L.C.T.N.I. Meeting

Thursday, January 10, 1957

According to Sanford University’s Research and Education Institute, Rev. King and Rev. Abernathy "are forced to return" to Montgomery, AL.

Ebernezer Baptist Church, GA

Approximately fifty clergy members gathered in Atlanta to form the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration

Churches and Homes Bombed, AL

Rev. Ralph Abernathy's (left) and the Rev. Robert Graetz's (center) homes were bombed in Montgomery, AL on the morning of January 10, 1957 (joined by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Dr. King Elected Conference President in New Orleans

Thursday, February 14, 1957

Pictured (l-r): Clarence Henry, Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Abraham Lincoln Davis, and Atty. Israel Meyer Augustine. Pulitzer Prize Awardee David J. Garrow in "Bearing the Cross" states that on February 10th, Dr. King called a second meeting of the "Atlanta Transportation Conference" group to meet in New Orleans. An organizing meeting was scheduled for

February 13-14, 1957, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at New Zion Baptist Church.

New Zion Baptist Church, LA

Pastored by Rev. A.L. Davis, 2319 Third Street, New Orleans, LA 70113

Civil Rights Activist Mahalia Jackson

New Orleans' own "Queen of Gospel" and others shared their talents

SCLC Officers Elected On February 14, 1957

National Officers Elected in New Orleans

According to an early SCLC Brochure: the Elected Officers, Executive Board Members and Staff included: President, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (GA); First Vice President, Charles Kenzie Steele, Sr. (FL); Second Vice President, Rev. Joseph Echols Lowery (AL); Third Vice President, Rev. Samuel Woodrow Williams (GA); Fourth Vice President, Dr. Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins, Sr. (LA); Secretary, Rev. Fredrick Lee “Fred” Shuttlesworth (AL); Treasurer, Rev. Dr. Ralph David Abernathy (AL); Chaplain, Rev. Kelly Miller Smith (TN); Historian, Dr. Lawrence Dunbar Reddick (MD); and Legal Counsel, Atty. Israel Meyer Augustine (LA). EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS: Rev. Henry C. Bunton (TN), Rev. Abraham Lincoln Davis, Jr. (LA), Rev. W.A. Dennis (TN), R.L. Drew (MS), Rev. Edward T. Graham (FL), Rev. Walter L. Hamilton (VA), Rev. W.L. Hall (GA), Aaron E. Henry (MS), Clarence Henry (LA), Rev. Benjamin Lawson Hooks, Esq. (TN), Rev. Dearing E. King, Sr. (KY), Rev. Martin L. King, Sr. (GA), Isaac Samuel Leevy (S.C.), Rev. Matthew D. McCollum (S.C.), Rev. Solomon Snowden Seay, Sr. (AL), Rev. R.B. Shorts (GA), W.E. Shortridge (AL), Rev. Nelson H. Smith (AL), Rev. Roland Smith (AR), Rev. Daniel B. Speed (FL), Rev. Melvin Chester Swann (N.C.), and Rev. Robert G. Williams (VA). Rev. Theodore Judson Jemison (LA) also served on the Executive Board. The 1957 SCLC STAFF: Executive Director, Dr. John L. Tilley (MD); Public Relations Director, James R. Wood; Educational Consultant, Dr. Dorothy Foreman Cotton (VA); Staff Consultant, Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. (TN); and, Field Secretary, Rev. Harry Blake (LA).

Honorable Rev. Avery Ceasar Alexander, 1910-1999

Avery Ceasar "The Rev" Alexander (October 31, 1963)

An early SCLC Member, he was dragged by his heels up the basement's steps in City Hall with his head banging on the staircase

Removal of Confederate Monuments

Restrained by the NOPD during a scuffle at the controversial Liberty Monument in March of 1993

Memorialized in Stone

Alexander served six terms as a State Representative and later helped to establish the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus

A Successful Nonviolent Bus Boycott

The Arrest of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks

The Montgomery Improvement Association