Emory University Gains Civil Rights Archive

The archives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference – the civil rights organization co-founded by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. – are now housed at Emory University, the school announced Thursday. Among the materials, mostly dating from 1968 to 1977, now at the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library are: -thousands of sympathy […]

The archives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference – the civil rights organization co-founded by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. – are now housed at Emory University, the school announced Thursday. Among the materials, mostly dating from 1968 to 1977, now at the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library are:

-thousands of sympathy letters and cards received after King’s assassination

-photographs of voter registration workshops


-drafts of speeches by civil rights leaders like the late Rev. Ralph Abernathy.

“SCLC played a significant role in the nation’s struggles over civil rights,” said Emory Provost Earl Lewis. “By helping to preserve that legacy we honor the past by connecting it to the present and the future.”

SCLC President Charles Steele, who is based in Atlanta, as Emory is, added:

“Placing the SCLC archive with Emory ensures that the organization’s materials will enrich understanding of history, culture and non-violence for generations to come.”

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