SCLC National Magazine - Convention 2021 Issue by SCLC Magazine

62nd National Convention

National Magazine

The Triple Threat

Poverty

Our History – Our Future

The Pandemic

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SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

Vol.50 / No. 5

Table of Contents

Achieving Racial Justice Takes All of Us

Columns: 05. The President's Corner 09. Message from the Chaiman 12. Message from the First Lady

PARTICIPATE IN THE MOVEMENT! Read Colorlines Attend a racial equity training. Attend our national convenings. Donate.

www.raceforward.org

Features: 14.Prince George’s County Maryland Chapter of SCLC on the Move During the Pandemic 19. The Pandemic is a case study in How Racism Manifests in Healthcase and a Guide Book on How to combat that reality 22. No Safe Place. No Grace. No Room for Error 28. Rev. C.T. Vivian’s Memoir 31. The Domino Effect 38. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is Calling for Peaceful Street Protests in Response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Uphold Voting Restrictions in Arizona

Editor-in-Chief:

Maynard Eaton is an eight-time EMMY Award winning news reporter, who is SCLC’s National Communications Director and Managing Editor of the SCLC National Magazine. Eaton is also the Executive Editor/host of SCLC-TV, Talk To ME, producer/broadcast talent at Atlanta Video Network, and News/Editorial Director at GlobalVisionLive360. He is also President of Eaton Media Group and a journalism professor at Clark Atlanta University.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

NATIONAL EXECUTI V E OFFICE R S

Dr. Charles Steele, Jr. President & CEO

Martin Luther King Jr. Founding President

Ralph D. Abernathy President 1968 - 1977

Fred L. Shuttlesworth President 2004

Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr Chairman

Joseph E. Lowery President 1977 - 1997

Dr. Charles Steele, Jr. President & CEO

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

Martin Luther King III President 1998 - 2003

Howard Creecy Jr. President 2011

P RESI DENT’S CORNER

Georgia Voting Restrictions By Dr. Charles Steele Jr., SCLC National President & CEO

Voter suppression is a very real and dangerous threat to the civil liberties of all AfricanAmericans. How can we have 955 streets in America in 41 states named after our co-founder Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and regress backwards in voting rights? This is unacceptable and we will not sit idly by while our rights are slowly taken away… The Southern Christian Leadership Conference Is Joining A Lawsuit Against the State of Georgia For Passing A Bill to Restrict Voting Georgia Cannot Be the Model for Other States to Follow, SCLC President Dr. Charles Steele, Jr. Says ATLANTA – Hoping to discourage states from following Georgia which has taken extreme steps to suppress voting, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) announces that it is joining a lawsuit against the Southern state for passing Senate Bill 202, which aims to prevent many Black and historically disenfranchised citizens from voting. With the lawsuit, the SCLC, co-founded and first led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., joins the litigation filed by The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, The African Methodist Episcopal Church and others. Georgia is one of 14 states that have taken actions to make it more difficult for citizens to vote. This weekend, Democratic legislators in Texas walked out of a session, where Texas Governor Greg Abbott is trying to implement polices to make it more difficult for some citizens to vote in the Longhorn State. “We want to prevent other states from passing bills that pretty much amounts to voting intimidation,” said Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., president and CEO of the SCLC. Dr. Steele, who has been sounding the alarm for years about the need to restore the 1965

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

Voting Right Act which paved the way for freedom and justice around the world, said it is clear why Georgia and other states, which have been Republican strongholds, are imposing sweeping provisions to deny access for all citizens to vote. They have been successful, he said, in gutting the legendary Voting Rights Act and stripping away freedoms. “They want to prevent what occurred in the last election with the astronomical turnout that was greater than ever before,” he said. “More than 5 million people voted in the 2020 elections in Georgia. Four million in the runoff race for the U.S. Senate, and a very large percentage of new voters were Black voters. Despite Covid-19, there were more than 1.3 million absentee votes, nearly 30 percent were cast by mail. African Americans accounted for 42 percent of those requesting absentee ballots.” Dr. Steele said the SCLC, which has been on the frontline fighting for voting rights that led to historic 1965 Voting Right Act, will not sit idly by and allow this freedom to be taken from citizens. “We are suing Georgia, so other states will not see Georgia as the model of where America is headed,” Dr. Steele says. “It is an attack on the Black voting power. There has been too much blood shed and too many lives lost for us to ever turn back, and the time is now to move this nation forward where all citizens have the right to vote and no baseless claims, or intimidation tactics will stop where America is headed.” Dr. Steele said the SCLC is seeking to overturn the following restrictions in the lawsuit. Identification requirements for absentee voting. S.B. 202 requires voters to provide a Georgia driver’s license (even if expired) or other government-issued identification to request and cast an absentee ballot. Voters who do not have these forms of identification when requesting an absentee ballot must provide a photocopy or electronic image of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document containing their name and address. Similar sensitive information, including a voter’s social security number, may be required to return an absentee ballot. • Limitations on use of secure drop boxes. S.B. 202 allows for the use of secure drop boxes, but caps the total number (which drastically reduces the number of secure drop boxes available in the most populous counties and in smaller counties), requires them to be located inside of the office of the board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk or inside of an advance voting location (outside of an emergency), limits the hours, limits their use and availability during the early voting period (not available the weekend before Election Day), and imposes new in-person security requirements, which could include law enforcement. • Line warming ban. S.B. 202 makes it a crime to give or “offer to give” food and water to voters standing within 150 feet of the outer edge of a polling place. S.B. 202 also makes it a crime to come within 25 feet of a voter standing anywhere in line to vote or “offer to give” food and water.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

• Drastic reduction in early voting for runoff elections. S.B. 202 forces all runoff elections to take place 28 days after the general or primary election, which drastically reduces the advance voting period for runoffs from three weeks to one week, with no mandatory weekend voting days, including Sunday voting. • Delayed and compressed time period to request absentee ballot. Before S.B. 202’s enactment, a voter could request an absentee ballot during the period starting 180 days prior to an election through the Friday prior to the election. S.B. 202 reduces the time during which a voter can request an absentee ballot to the period starting 78 days prior to the election and requires that the application be received by the county election administrator 11 days prior to the election. • Mobile voting unit restrictions. Prior to S.B. 202’s enactment, Georgia law permitted election administrators to provide portable polling facilities, known as “mobile voting units,” which have been used to mitigate long lines and provide voting access in situations where voters may have difficulty accessing a polling location. S.B. 202 restricts the use of mobile voting units to only narrow circumstances in which an emergency is declared by the Governor.

ABOUT THE SCLC: Established in 1957, the SCLC, whose first president was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is an international organization made up of chapters and affiliates with programs that affect the lives of all Americans: north, south, east, and west. Its sphere of influence and interests have become international in scope because the human rights movement transcends national boundaries. For additional information about the SCLC, visit www.nationalsclc.org.To arrange an interview with Dr. Steele, contact Jerry Thomas at jerry@jerrythomaspr.com, or (312) 414-4016.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

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FROM TH E CH AI RMAN

Reflections on the Alabama Voter Registration Campaign By Dr. Bernard Lafayette, SCLC Chairman You must be the change you wish to see in the world. __Gandhi

The most significant outcome of the Alabama Voter Registration Campaign was the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, which banned racial discrimination and secured equal voting rights for black citizens. This resulted in a dramatic increase in voter registration for AfricanAmericans. The Voting Rights Act is considered by many people to be the single most important legislation for civil rights. It restored the right to vote guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, which stated that no individual should be denied the right to vote because of race. In addition, it eliminated the use of the unfair literacy tests, poll taxes, and other discriminatory practices to prohibit people from registering to vote. The Voting Rights Act was a direct consequence of the Alabama Voter Registration Campaign. I’m proud to say that the work that was done in Dallas County and surrounding counties began a positive change throughout the southern states. By the summer following the signing of the Voting Rights Act, more than nine thousand black voters were registered, giving them back the voice that had been oppressed. I learned from Dr. King the importance of transforming the way people think, not just changing the laws. At the of the march we never boasted “We won!” as if we had defeated an enemy. Even when the laws change, it is necessary to win the hearts of the opposing people to be truly effective. You can smile at your adversaries but not stick out your tongue. When the Voting Rights Act of

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

1965 was passed, it was critical for people’s thinking to have changed so that the laws could actually work. Dr. King once told me that laws could regulate people’s behavior but not necessarily their hearts. When people’s thinking changes, it affects how they view other issues of injustice. Once they have a change of heart, they may not accept other unjust conditions. It’s not the people in the movement that’s important; It’s the movement in the people that counts. I’m curtained that the way that the Selma community thought about themselves was revolutionized. Changing a law will make a difference only if people have inside. I believe that a secondary result , but nevertheless an important one, was that people saw the power of nonviolence and recognized that they had the ability to stand up for their beliefs. Their actions of protesting injustices could bring about transformation. Blacks realized that they had the capacity to change unfair and oppressive conditions. They grasped the idea that they, as ordinary individuals, had a role to play. When they combined their individual strengths with strengths of others, they multiplied many times their reservoir of resources. Going through the experience of Selma gave me a new set of skills and enriched the skills I had already acquired. I felt ready to take on Chicago, applying the principles, steps and philosophy that I had embraced from the early days in Nashville and the Freedom Rides, and that I had continued through Selma. I also recalled some of my narrow escapes, and friends who weren’t as fortunate. That responsibility weighed heavy on me, and I vowed to make sure that those who sacrificed their lives did not give them in vain. The road that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965was drenched with blood: not necessarily the blood of our resistors our opponents, but the blood of advocates and supporters. I wanted to share these experiences not simply for them to be clarified in the minds of researchers, but to be lessons for those who want to apply these nonviolent approaches to dealing with current problems in their lives and communities on national and global levels.

T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L B R O T H E R H O O D O F

TEAMSTERS SALUTES

THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE On the Occasion of Black History Month

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

JAMES P. HOFFA General President

KEN HALL General Secretary-Treasurer

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

FROM THE FI RST L ADY

EMPOWERED

By Cathelean Steele, Founder, Justice for Girls

Technological advances allow women to reshape conversations, lead by example, boost the self-esteem of girls and women, fight against injustices, and become mentors for the watchful eyes of our future leaders. I am blessed to have shared conversations, listened, and learned from Mamie Till Mobley, Dorothy Height, Coretta Scott King, and Evelyn Lowery. These women empowered themselves though circumstance not of their choosing-however, they rose to the occasion and faced the challenges before them, empowered followers, and left this world better for future generations. I truly believe that empowered women, empower women. How we identify ourselves is essential to our success and the influence that we have on others. I have watched as Black Voters Matter galvanized the youth and non-voters and educated them on the importance of their vote. I watched as Black Lives Matter protested throughout the unrest surrounding the continuation of police killings of unarmed Black Men and Women. These organizations were started by strong women with strong beliefs that gave others the strength to fight to right the wrongs in our American justice system. During my research, I became curious about Black women in the workplace and found that discrimination in the workplace is still a number one problem for Black women. The research firm Engaging Works found that only 57 percent of Black female workers are likely to not feel empowered as a decision maker in the work place. Beverly Bond founder of Black Girls Rock, stated “a wide scope of Black women remain unseen and unvoiced.” Black Girls Rock has evolved into an International Movement. I love reading in my leisure time. Recently, I was reading the book LOVE-the words and inspiration of Mother Teresa and came upon this quote which should be an inspiration to everyone “If I diminish you, I diminish myself.” She explains herself by stating that a person should be friendly, hospitable, generous, gentle, caring and compassionate. I contemplated her words and realized that how you treat others not only makes you a better person but leaves an impression that continuously passed on to others.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

The history of Black women in America gives us the confidence of knowing that with guidance and encouragement we can overcome all obstacles. There are many Harriett Tubmans and Mother Teresa’s leading the way. The luncheon honorees during the 62nd national convention most certainly are women who have found their path in life. They are influencers, they care for others, and they fight a good fight. Their legacy will never be forgotten as those who study under them, who learn from them, and who admire them will pass on to others their strength, character, drive, and love to empower a new generation.

THE ONLY THING MORE IMPORTANT THAN STARTING THE CONVERSATION IS KEEPING IT GOING.

We honor the men and women who began the dialog for social, economic and political justice through our commitment to help continue it.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

Prince George’s County Maryland Chapter of SCLC on the Move During the Pandemic President/Chairperson| Southern Christian Leadership Conference PG Maryland Chapter The World experienced a pandemic that put our country at a standstill, however, the Prince Georges County Maryland Chapter of the SCLC continued to carry on the mission of Dr. King, while still maintaining distance safety and mask wearing. Recently House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer asked the PG SCLC for a statement (for his presentation to the Caucus and press), in support of H.R. 3005 legislation, a bill he was sponsoring to remove the bust of Roger B. Taney and several other statues of the Confederacy from the Capitol building. Below is our statement: “We cannot move forward with a better future when we exhort the sins of the past. Prince Georges County Maryland Chapter of the SCLC strongly supports H.R. Josephine Mourning, SCLC Chapter 3005 and the removal of the bust of Roger B. Taney and President several statues of the confederacy from the Capitol.” PG SCLC has just teamed up with Prince Georges County Maryland State Attorney’s Office to fight crime in the “Our Streets, Our Future” Initiative. This program will involve more community outreach activities involving our youth and community service to decrease crime. Our President/Chairperson ( Josephine Mourning) served on the Prince Georges County Maryland Police Reform Commission from June 2020 to December 2020. While serving on the Commission Ms. Mourning was instrumental in submitting 50 recommendations to the Prince Georges County Executive (Angela Alsobrooks), whereby 46 recommendations were accepted and are being implemented. One of the major recommendations was the Repeal of the Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights (“LEOBR”). Maryland’s democratic-controlled legislature passed a sweeping reform package that repealed the state’s police Bill of Rights, becoming the first state in the nation to do so and overriding Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s vetoes in the process. Maryland enacted historic police accountability measures and set new rules for when police may use force and how they are investigated and disciplined. The repeal also raises the bar for officers to use force; give civilians a role in police discipline for the first time; restrict no-knock warrants; mandate body cameras; and open some allegations of police wrongdoing for public review.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

Prince Georges County SCLC also held several marches to our state capital advocating for the repeal of LEOBR. The bill was sponsored by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, the first black person to hold her leadership role. Discipline will now largely be decided by civilian panels, for example, but police chiefs maintain a role. Still, the legislation imposes one of the strictest police use-of-force in the nation, according to experts; requires officers to prioritize de-escalation tactics; and imposes a criminal penalty for those found to have used excessive force. The new law will also give more oversight power to civilians. Another recommendation that Ms. Mourning fought hard for on the Reform Commission was more assistance for the mentally ill. For too long the solution to assisting the mentally ill was police officers shooting them. Now, we have a new telephone line (211) that citizens can call when there is a suspected mental illness situation. Calling this line will facilitate mental health professionals accompanying the officers on calls in order to assist in de-escalation. Prince Georges County has also added another long-term care facility to our county. In answer to defunding the police, 20 million was reallocated to funds for mental health. The Prince Georges County SCLC also were recipients of 50 educational scholarships by Pearson Online Academy. Pearson is one of the top private schools in the country. These scholarships allow middle and high school students to attend a private school virtually, free of charge. Pearson supplies every student with a free laptop computer and a stipend for Wi-Fi. Spencer Pilgrim, a member of the Executive Board of the Prince Georges County SCLC was instrumental in securing these scholarships and PG SCLC was also awarded a substantial donation from Pearson Online Academy to continue our work with civil rights. This came about after the George Floyd senseless murder. Prince Georges County SCLC also shared these scholarships with other chapters of SCLC. Prince Georges County SCLC has formed a partnership with Infinite Scholar and will host a Scholarship Fair at the First Baptist Church of Highland Park (Pastor Henry P. Davis III) on October 10, 2021 that will afford the opportunity to students of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area to receive scholarships to top colleges. To learn more about Infinite Scholar, please visit infinitescholar.org. Because of the heavy student debt liability when our students are leaving college, the students spend the next 10 years repaying this student loan debt. The opportunity to acquire wealth is much delayed. PG SCLC is excited to offer this opportunity to future scholars. This phenomenal opportunity came to us through Dr. Laura Dorsey, an Executive Board Member of the PG SCLC. PG SCLC is also in partnership with the Safe Center at the University of Maryland, a center with concentration on sex and human trafficking. This Center’s founder is Ambassador Susan Esserman, a recipient of the Justice for Girls’ award by the National SCLC.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

PG SCLC also works jointly with the Prince Georges County NAACP on different initiatives. We find that working together we can make a great difference in our county. For information on the Prince Georges County Maryland SCLC, please visit pgmdsclc.org About Our President/Chairperson Josephine Mourning Ms. Mourning serves on the 202 Coalition, an organization headed by Senator Joanne Benson. She contributes her own funds and volunteers with Angelic Touch, an outreach organization that supply food and other items of necessity to the homeless and lowincome seniors. She is the recipient of the SCLC Volunteer Service Award on behalf of the Prince Georges County SCLC branch from President Barack Obama. Ms. Mourning has served as the Guest Speaker at Bowie State University for Black History Month. She has been the Keynote Speaker for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Keynote Speaker for Black History Month for the Cheverly Women Auxiliary. She volunteers with different domestic violence outreach organizations. Most recently, Ms. Mourning has been actively involved in seeking resolution to the Prince Georges County school system grade changing debacle, to include rendering comments to the Prince Georges County Board of Education as to a resolution. She served on the Stop the Violence Rally Committee with Mayor Eugene Grant. She has participated in different forums with the Prince Georges County Chief of Police, rendering suggestion forging greater relationships with the community and the police department. She was asked by the Attorney General of Maryland and did serve as a panelist on the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP forum, discussing the subject “Civil Rights, Where Are We Today”. A Howard County resident was facing 25 years in prison for firing a gun in the air when a trespasser was on her property and solicited Ms. Mourning assistance. With Ms. Mourning’s and SCLC’s assistance, the resident sentencing was reduced to house arrest. Since a young age, Civil Rights Activism has always been Ms. Mourning’s passion. When someone has a concern whether their civil rights were violated and calls on Ms. Mourning, she is always ready to render her assistance in any way that she can assist. Ms. Mourning was born and raised in North Carolina where she witnessed many acts of racial and social injustices at a young age. We Join the SCLC in Honoring the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. May his dream become a reality for all people.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic is a Case Study in How Racism Manifests in Healthcare and a Guidebook on How to Combat That Reality Maurice Sholas, MD, PhD

There are 331.4 million people in the United States according to the latest US census. That rise in population comes in spite of 33.5 million cases of infection and 602,000 deaths from the Novel Coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19). These data go from the start of the pandemic through June 2021. This death rate is being mitigated by 45.7% of the United States population being fully vaccinated over this same period of time. However, these grouped data do not tell the full story. The weight of the COVID-19 pandemic was not equally born by the country’s citizens. Black Americans are 13.4% of the US Population and slightly more likely to catch COVID-19 than other groups. But, Black Americans are 2.9 times more likely to be

hospitalized with a serious infection and 2 times more likely to die according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. In addition, these data likely undercount the actual impact because nearly 40% of the case reports from the states did not include complete information about race. Since there is no genetic reason that COVID-19 would be more dangerous to Black persons as opposed to White Americans, these disparities represent bias within the health delivery system. Thus, the pandemic did not create an environment that marginalized Black persons. It demonstrated the effects of systemic, institutional, and personally mediated

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

racism in healthcare. Fortunately, we saw the presence of a diverse workforce in public and individual health essential to identifying these disparate outcomes and prompting timely and equitable solutions. “Black Professionals Matter” is not simply a slogan, but an essential reality to protect the health and welfare of the Black community. Black Americans have commonly been among the most vulnerable to infectious pandemics. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Black Americans are less likely to be able to work remotely, more likely to live in neighborhoods that are furthest from comprehensive care, and more likely to be denied interventions until their symptoms are more advanced. These realities demonstrate the various types of bias persons in the Black community encounter. It is a systemic bias that Black persons are less able to protect themselves against infection by not being able to shelter at home and still earn a living. We are disproportionately relegated to careers that come at personal risk and those with less autonomy and individual agency. There

is institutional bias in that geographical and transportation barriers make care less accessible to Black persons infected with COVID-19. Our communities are not equitably served with healthcare resources. Finally, there is personally mediated bias in that Black patients are not judged in need of intervention until they present with more profound symptoms consistent with more advanced disease. Individual health providers make care decisions, especially during times of scarcity, which disadvantaged the Black community in aggregate. The disproportionate serious infection and death rates in the Black population were not because of a lack of personal responsibility or disinterest in wellness as initially suggested. These increased serious infection and death rates were due to systemic, institutional and personally mediated bias that represents racism. Initially, those monitoring the state of the pandemic in the country did not identify the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black communities. Black physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and public health professionals on the front line noticed a commonality in those most

Maurice Sholas, MD, PhD is an HBCU and Ivy-League educated physician entrepreneur that provides care for children with physical disabilities and administratively uses his voice to elevate marginalized communities in healthcare. He can be reached on all social media platforms at @DocMoSho or at www.DocMoSho.com

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

seriously ill and dying. They noticed that Black persons were represented in percentages well above their presence in the population. The voices of those professionals framed the question of “why”, drove the collection of data to clarify the scope and extent of the challenge, and assertively pressed implementation of measures to counteract the disparities of illness and death. Thus, a model to combat the effects of systemic, institutional and personally mediated bias was shown. It made a tangible difference when professionals driving health care decisions were as diverse as those being served as patients. Without Black health professionals, the disparities would not have been identified in a timely fashion, or prioritized for remediation.

COVID-19 is far from over. Although the country as a whole is getting vaccinated and moving towards a new normal, the vulnerability of Black populations to poor outcomes is a cautionary tale with a solution. The potential for poorer outcomes affecting Black citizens can be mitigated by making certain that institutions of health care, public health and health policy are led by teams that not only contain, but integrate, Black professionals. It should be the mission of organized medicine, community advocates and policy makers to empower Black professionals and communities. Literally, our very lives depend on it.

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No Safe Place, No Grace, No Room for Error By Davynn Brown

Each time that I hear about the

unjustified death of a Black man or woman at the hands of a police officer, I feel helpless. I become afraid for myself and my loved ones. I am reminded that there is no safe place, not even as we sleep in our homes. There is no grace, not for mental illness or troubled situations. There is no room for error. Even while fearing for our lives, Black people cannot make one wrong move. This past year, living through a pandemic forced many people to experience, for the first time in their lives, the feeling of living in a constant state of worry. Everyone in the world had to continually make tough choices about how to move about this world knowing that their life was always at risk. We all had to decide whether or not we would be safe in certain spaces and whether or not we were doing everything that we could to protect ourselves. Black people in this country have been living in their own racial “pandemic” since before setting foot on this land. After hundreds of years of legally backed oppression, it has become a necessary part of Black culture for families to pass down advice about how best to stay alive, specifically, how best to stay alive when forced to interact with the police. I have been asked to describe how it feels to be inundated with news stories of Black civilians being killed by police. I cannot acknowledge my feelings without first acknowledging that this is not a new phenomena. My ancestors have always dealt with the knowledge that their lives and the lives of their loved ones were susceptible to the whims of unjustified policing actions. In today’s world, the feelings of helplessness and fear are no different than they were 20 years ago or 100 years ago. However, 24/7 access to social media and news updates means that these feelings are constantly reaffirmed. We must process the tragic stories of people we know, people in our neighborhood and city, and also, people across the nation and the world. While I am grateful for the exposure that these crimes are finally getting, it comes at a cost. Resilience is in our blood, but the honest truth is that Black America is hurting. I am hurting. According to the Mayo Clinic, Post-traumatic stress disorder is “a mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event- either experiencing it or witnessing it.” Symptoms may include recurrent or unwanted memories of the event, trying to avoid

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

thinking about the event, hopelessness about the future, emotional numbness, and always being on guard for danger. I am not a psychologist or doctor, but it does not take a medical degree to understand that witnessing the tragic and unjustified killing of a person at the hands of a police officer is a traumatic event. Black people have experienced and are experiencing a string of terrifyingly traumatic events as we bear witness to the growing number of tragic and unjustified deaths of other Black people. I remember sitting down with my family as each of us recounted tales of being stopped by the police for unnecessary matters. My brothers, cousins, and father have all been profiled for “driving while black” in predominantly white areas or driving cars that were stereotyped as too fancy or too “hood”. I was once stopped by five police cars in my own

neighborhood for not having my lights on. We had all experienced the deep sadness of learning that my cousin had been shot and killed during a police stop. All of our stories turned into lessons for my nieces and nephews. Move Slowly. Don’t move until told to do so. Narrate your actions aloud. Don’t look too angry. Don’t run. Don’t talk back. Don’t stay out too late. Don’t drive in certain areas. Don’t drive this kind of car. I think of Breonna Taylor when I close my eyes at night hoping that the rustling of the bushes outside is just the wind and not S.W.A.T. I think of Atatianna Jefferson when I close the blinds at night hoping that police haven’t decided that I am a stranger in my home. I think of Botham Jean as I open my door hoping that an off-duty officer hasn’t mistaken my home for theirs. I think of John Crawford when my friends talk about buying paintball guns from Wal-mart. I think of Corey Jones when I see someone waiting on the side of the road for a tow. The list, of course, goes on.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

My friends and I have jokingly discussed what information we want the media to report about us in case we are killed by police. We have liked and shared Facebook statuses making it clear that if we die in police custody, we did not kill ourselves. We have reminded each other that we don’t need to hold guilt for the way in which we process these traumatic events. As Black people in America, We do not have to use our imaginations to understand the fear that victims of police killings experienced or the pain that their families feel. We see ourselves in one another. We feel this pain as a uniquely collective experience. Each unjustified death of a Black person at the hands of a police officer is a reminder that our survival, while never guaranteed, will always be resistance.

Davynn Brown is currently a third-year law student at Georgia State University College of Law. She is acting VP of the GSU Black Law Students Association, and has a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies from Yale University. Davynn has a passion for people and truly believes that she is the embodiment of her ancestor’s wildest dreams.

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Poverty is Always a Pandemic Tristan R. Breaux

Over the last 14 months, the world has

been rocked by an enemy that no one can see. COVID-19 has prevented families from seeing each other, students from attending school and offices forced to send their employees home. While this has offered a clear view of our public health and healthcare needs, these issues caused by the virus are not new to those faced with poverty every single day. For too many families, children and seniors in our community, poverty is always a pandemic. It was John Bunyan who stated, “he who bestows his goods upon the poor shall have as much again, and ten times more.” Those words are important for local, state, and federal government officials to understand when implementing policy to eradicate poverty. There hasn’t been a strong investment in public policy to address poverty since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The mission of the war on poverty was to address inequality in education, healthcare and housing. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference played a vital role in getting the Johnson Administration to make critical investments in the economic welfare of Black communities. As we approach sixty years after that landmark initiative, we still face the lowest quality of schools in education, the least insured when it comes to healthcare, and Black homeownership is lower now than when the Fair Housing Act was signed into law. Despite what we’ve heard over the last years and a half, poverty for Black people was a pandemic before COVID-19 and until we commit to strengthening programs that offer a hand up, will be one after it is gone.

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The Congress of the United States is currently debating investments in our infrastructure. These include funding for our highways, bridges, tunnels and expanding broadband to communities of need. We have a moment to address the economic infrastructure of communities impacted by poverty at the same time. This is a moment for President Biden to be the President Johnson of our time and we must call attention to the issues impacted our people. The need to expand Pre-K and Head Start programs to every American child, providing a foundation and a fair level playing field in public education is important to fill a void for low income families. We should ensure that all schools are brought into the 21st Century with global technology, so that no child has to find a public building to stay connected to a strong broadband/internet connection for school work. There needs to be robust investments in workforce training programs, Historically Black Colleges and University funding and a pathway for every child to attend college if they would like to. We need to expand community healthcare center funding to provide access to left out communities, because no one should go without proper healthcare. The Fair Housing Act should be strengthened and expanded to address the racial inequities in home appraisals, zoning discrimination, rental bias and the continuing decline of Black homeowners. Poverty is our pandemic in the Black community. This is a public health emergency, that needs an immediate vaccine to address the issues. As the SCLC looks to the next phase of the movement, we are in a great position to make the same impact that we made in 1964. We can educate our children, keep our community healthy and house our families. This is the pandemic that we need addressed. We must have a call to action to reverse the severe inequities within our economic policy in this country. The fight has not changed since the War on Poverty of the 1960’s, we must make strategic and critical investments in the lives our citizens to ensure that no child, family or individual lives in poverty.

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Living legacy The Mason Temple of Memphis is the renowned site of Dr. King’s last sermon – his historic “Mountaintop” masterpiece. But 53 years later, this special building still lives and breathes his legacy. Thanks to a unique partnership with the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Trudy Morrison of Operation HOPE uses the building as a hub for her work as a financial coach and mentor, elevating and empowering people to reach their own “mountaintops.” At First Horizon, we’re proud to support Trudy’s work every day as we strive to honor the life of the one who inspired it. ©2021 First Horizon Bank. Member FDIC.

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Rev. C.T. Vivian’s Memoir By Maynard Eaton, SCLC Magazine Editor-In-Chief “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once called Rev. Vivian, the ‘greatest preacher ever to live’.” -

Ambassador Andrew Young

The renowned and revered, Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian, a Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, civil rights legend, and former SCLC President, was such an intellect and avid reader that he had compiled a home library of 6,000 volumes on the African American experience, but unlike his contemporaries and colleagues, he was not interested in writing about himself. But his daughter, Denise Morse, convinced him to work with author Steve Fiffer before he passed in July 2020. The resulting, recently released book is entitled: “It’s in The Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior.” “He was a great thinker and a student of history,” opines author Fiffer. “He had a collection of 6,000 books largely from African Americans dating back to Colonial times. His mother and grandmother instilled a love of history and reading in him, so he was a very cerebral man, as well as the title of the book indicates, ‘A Man of Action.’” The forward is written by his friend and former fellow SCLC executive, Ambassador Andrew Young. “There is no question that Rev. Vivian was one of the architects of our history,” opines Ambassador Young. “Martin [King] sent for him and asked him to join us because he needed his experience. He was always a part of the team that believed in non-violence social change, and that believed in reconciliation, forgiveness and the transformation of humanity into the Kingdom of God.” Fiffer reveals during an hour-long online ZOOM promotional conversation about his book that Dr. Vivian’s humility and grace surprised him most. “I come from outside without knowing him in the beginning and realizing what an important role people like he and Ambassador Young played in shaping the world I lived in,” Fiffer reports. “Clearly, he was the humblest of all the people that I’ve worked with. Really, the fact that he got to be 90 having led such an important life, having been at every major

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

stop along the fight for civil rights, even going back to Peoria in the 1940’s, and that he had not written a memoir about his life when everybody whose got 15 minutes of fame has written a memoir, was really surprising. He was not just a man of action, but he was such a lover of words and books.” “That’s what surprises me about C.T.,” adds, Ambassador Young, “because C.T. was working with a Baptist publishing house when I met him in 1959-60. And, he was an editor of a paper, and was a professional writer.” Young adds, “As long as the lion is not writing the story, the hunter will always win. I understood that and wanted to make sure we got it right this time.” In chronicling Rev. Vivian’s stellar and historic Movement career, Fiffer was asked where he would place Vivian in terms of his significance and his meaning to the Movement? “We tend to lose sight of some of these heroes of the Civil Rights Movement of what they did after the ‘60’s,” Fiffer says. “Dr. Vivian was a real visionary and that’s one thing I wanted to convey in the book. Like Dr. King and others, he saw that the North was going to be the next battleground after the Voting Rights Act legislation and the Civil Rights Act had been passed.” Dr. Vivian started Vision, which has now morphed into Upward Bound, a federal program that provides opportunities for low-income students and their higher education pursuits. “This was a man of great vision and forward thinking in addition to being a man of action that we saw during the civil rights years,” adds Fiffer. When asked, what was it like working with Dr. Vivian on the book, Fiffer replied, “He was delightful and thoughtful and often animated.” “But he discussed an issue like he preached,” recalls Young, “he used to say he preached like a train going downhill.” Ambassador Young adds, “Martin Luther King said it almost in jest, ‘You’ve got to be clinically insane to think that this bunch of crackpots, neurotics, went out and changed this nation. None of us will probably make it to 40, but those of us who do are going to have a long haul. It’s going to take at least 100 years for us to bet this country right’. So, it was always in the plan that this was an ongoing struggle. Nobody hardly slowed down ever. They went right to their deaths, and C.T. was going, he was full of energy all his life. And it was no less at 90, than it was at 45.” Atlanta Journal Constitution race and cultural affairs reporter, Ernie Suggs, asked the ZOOM participants: “Rev. Vivian passed away a year ago, so he was living through what we are experiencing now in America. What were his thoughts about what is going in the country with regards to race relations today?”

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

“He was always pushing to do things that was the next level,” reports son, Al. “What do we do next? It was always that strategic planning of what comes next. Dad was always ahead of the curve. He saw what is happening now, coming. Anybody in America could have seen that if we talk real American history. We get taught American mythology. The wool is getting pulled over people’s eyes. “When I think about our company

now, BASIC Diversity Inc, this is our 47th year,” he adds. “We’re like the longest serving diversity firm in existence, and now everybody is jumping on board. What he was teaching me the business in 1991, 30 years ago, is now proven what we’ve been saying for decades.” “He was a strong, strong believer in the importance of strategy,” adds his biographer, Steve Fiffer. “A unified strategy was important, and that was more difficult these days because we are more spread out, and there’s not one central organization. He regretted the fact that the church wasn’t as involved, as it might have been in the past.” Fiffer adds, “C.T. Vivian believed so strongly in Dr. King, and saw him as a prophet, that I think, that even though he realized these were different times, there was a longing for there to be one kind of central, unified, galvanizing figure around whom the strategy might be able to be centered.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Domino Effect By Cicone Prince, Personal Development / Leadership Development Strategist

How Poverty, The Pandemic, and The Polls have impacted the Black Community As a child, I always liked setting up dominos and knocking them down. Setting them up in a predetermined pattern of a spiral or up a ramp so that I could see how they would fall. After I set them up I would run to the starting point and push over the first one eagerly watching and see how the layout would unfold. Over the years there have been contests, and competitions that have included the use of dominos. Did you know that if you scale up the size of dominos that you can actually use a regular size domino to knock over a wall? To me, that’s so powerful. If set up properly a little action can have a huge impact. I like to call that “The Domino Effect.”

So what does “The Domino Effect” have to do with how poverty, the pandemic, and the polls impact the Black Community? It has a lot to do with them. The analogy is an actual paradigm shift of cause and effect that has kept a certain segment of our population specifically Black People) in a perpetually disadvantaged state which has caused ongoing issues that will last several lifetimes. This domino can leave generational effects that will not go away easily.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

In a previous article, I referenced “Emotional DNA” and talked about the psychological scarring that slavery has caused and the subsequent mental incarceration that plagues our communities. This poverty mindset keeps a lot of us in a state of survival mode and does not allow us to fully shift gears to a thriving mode. It may appear that a burst of success would transpire, but actually, it created a situation where it was difficult to rise above the financial prisons that we have been led into. The prison that I am referring to is one that keeps us buying items that depreciate in value instead of items that appreciate in value. The pandemic was another domino that only magnified the problem as statistics showed people of color (Black People) suffered more than any other group due to the lack of jobs with benefits, health care, savings, and the entrepreneurial foundation needed to shore up our communities. The pandemic brought front and center the unlevel playing field that we all have to experience on a normal day and shined a glaring light on those disparities. The pandemic domino also paused the world long enough for racial injustice and civil rights issues to be clearly seen right before our eyes as we watched on our televisions. Systemic racism still exists and is making the pandemic worse in Black America. The outcomes were also very alarming as many testing sights were delayed entry into the predominantly black neighborhoods, unlike the more affluent white ones. The internet also contributed to what seemed to have been a common occurrence, by bringing worldwide attention because of the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmad Arbery. The pandemic has allowed us to truly focus on what really matters, which brings us to another domino. The 2020 election was one of the most polarizing elections in recent memory. One of the things that made it such a hot button issue was not just the characters in mainstream media, but the awareness of our collective voice. The sleeping giant was awakened, and we fully understood what we need to do is, as I mentioned in my previous article, “Stay Woke!” Stay woke to the fact that our voice and our vote can make a difference. That’s why we need to not let up with voting registration and political activism because they are making a difference. We saw that we had our own domino that could be used to push back and turned the tide in our favor when it comes to governing and policies that affect us. And just like those dominos that sometimes seem to stop the cascading, we realized that we have the power to chart a new course for the country and for our culture. The question real is, “How will you use your domino?”

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

My Dinner With a Racist By Debbie Ellison, Education Committee Co-Chair Cherokee County NAACP

I just had dinner with a racist. I have had dinner with this 90-year-old white woman many times at my parents’ independent living facility; the subject never came up before. I guess she did not realize that my son-in-law is black and that my grandchildren are biracial. I wondered if she would be eating with me if she had known. Her first derogatory remark was something about how unthinkable it was for a white person and a “darkie” to get married. Yes, she actually used the term “darkie.” I have lived in the South for 40 years and have never even heard that word; I think that was used during the Civil War era. I told her that my daughter is married to a black man and it did not matter to me what color anyone was, and to please keep her opinions to herself. She then went on to pat herself on the back for having been nice to my 11-year-old granddaughter and telling her how pretty she was (at the time she told my granddaughter that, she did not know that my granddaughter was biracial). I asked her why shouldn’t she be nice to an 11-year-old and what her being biracial had to do with anything. Another woman at the table defended her. At that point, I got up and left the table. I was shaking all the way home. I am preparing to go on a Civil Rights Tour in Birmingham in a few days with Mrs. Naomi King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s sister-in-law. How ironic! I have traveled with Mrs. King over the last few years and she is very dear to my heart. This woman could learn so much from Mrs. King about tolerance and love. Too bad she would probably never be open to speaking to Mrs. King. When I got home, I was still shaking and livid from the encounter, trying to make sense of how anyone could have so much hate in their hearts. I have heard Mrs. King tell stories many times about her life with Martin and her husband, A.D. And as I sat there pondering what had happened earlier, I remembered one particular story Mrs. King tells, a story that has touched me so deeply and has been etched into my heart forever.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

She was sitting in her living room late one night when Martin came in. He walked to the mantle, tugging on his tie. He said, “Neenie, do you know what happened to me today?” She said, “What ML?” He told her that he was detained at the police station and that they had tried to choke him with his own tie. What he said next, I will never forget. As I reflect on it, I find the only solace I have felt since my encounter with this woman. He said, “The more they abuse us, the more we are going to forgive and love them.” This from a man who had been put down, thwarted, attacked, beaten up for his beliefs. But he never, never gave up. He marched and preached and marched some more. But never once did he allow the fear and the attacks to keep him from doing what he was put on this earth to do. Faced with innumerable obstacles, unbearable challenges, and unimaginable hatred, he kept going. While they threw rocks at him, he kept marching. While they called him derogatory names, he kept marching. When FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover bugged his hotel rooms, monitored his every move, and called him the most dangerous man in America, he kept marching. When white supremacists blocked his path, he kept marching. So in his honor, and for my beloved Mrs. King and her beloved husband A.D., and for all the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, I will not allow myself to hate this woman. I will not allow myself to stoop to her despicable level. I will stand tall, and as difficult and painful as it is, I will swallow my tears, I will calm my fluttering heart, I will stand without wobbling, and I will look at this woman, this blatant racist, with all the compassion I can muster. And I will heed the words of the man I admire so much: “The more they abuse us, the more we are going to forgive and love them.”

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is Calling for Peaceful Street Protests in Response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Uphold Voting Restrictions in Arizona By Jerry Thomas America is no longer the model for other nations to follow, SCLC President Dr. Charles Steele, Jr. Says

ATLANTA – Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), today called for widespread, peaceful street protests in America for advocates of the disenfranchised to show the world how dissatisfied they are with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold some voting rights restrictions in Arizona. “We were depending on the court, just as we did in the 1950s and 1960s to do what is right,” said Dr. Steele, disheartened by the vote that might lead courts in states like Georgia to uphold laws preventing some citizens from voting. “We are always looking to the federal government to be the friends of the oppressed. My position has always been politics have never freed the oppressed, the oppressed must free politics. We must take it to the streets in a non-violent manner and make an impact in terms of letting the world know America is not this great country that has been embedded in the world community. It is not a nation other countries need to model to better themselves. America, in the new world order, is operating like a third world country when it comes to its treatment of the disenfranchised and people of color. We must mobilize these efforts immediately.” The SCLC, Dr. Steele said, started sounding the alarm about efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act in June of 2013 when the high court struck down sections four and five of the act, which removed some protections. But traditional strategies were push to the side as the focus shifted to celebrating other political successes. Some painful lessons, he said, are being learned from the Supreme Court’s decision. “The Civil Rights Movement has gone full circle,” Dr. Steele said. “What people must realize, especially those who have been disenfranchised, is that you can never rest on your laurels. You can never take a break and think folks will do what is right. You must always stand and advocate for the poor and those who have been left out of SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

the system in terms of jobs and equality. It is an ongoing process, standing up and fighting for individuals. We have the right under the constitution of the United States. We must fight for our rights even though it is in the constitution. We can never take a vacation. We must fight for our rights every day.” Now, it is time, Dr. Steele said, to revisit some strategies from the legendary civil rights playbook to restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act. “The street protests got us the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” Dr. Steele said. “It is the Godly way of expressing our dissatisfaction in front of a massive audience and getting the government and all persons of concern all around the world to know we are dissatisfied with the mindset of the country that was striving to provide justice and equality for all of God’s children.” There is no other recourse, Dr. Steele said. “This is un-American,” he said. “This is undemocratic. We, as a people, gave America too much credit. America is no different than any other country that tries to oppress and disenfranchise people who are not included and want to be included in the system. The system of racism has raised its ugly head. Now we must stand as we stood before because this is nothing new to us. And when we protest and sound the alarm again, we will set America on its rightful course.”

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Kingian Non-Violent Tactics for Social Change & Demanding an End to the Triple Evils THE LATE JOHN LEWIS ‘SAT IN’ ON THE CONGRESSIONAL FLOOR By Heather Gray, Social & Civil Rights Columnist As a colleague and activist friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by “sitting in” on the Congressional floor, John Lewis was wisely applying the U.S. civil rights movement’s non-violent methods for change. The influence of Martin Luther King’s methods have been and are immense. While John Lewis passed on July 17, 2020, he clearly demonstrated, in his impressive work, the impact of the Kingian steps of non-violent social change. In 2016, when John Lewis, our Georgia U.S. Representative, demanded changes in American gun laws by “sitting-in” in the U.S. Congress, I am sure he was saying “enough is enough”! He was essentially demanding that the Republicans in Congress need to be proactive on ideas and policies that would benefit the community overall, rather than focusing on their own-self interests. But it is also important to note that his actions were the result of his long affiliation with the ‘group mentality’ developed for decades and/or centuries on non-violent social change. He was a spokesperson, but as part of a group altogether. But what is also essential regarding the sit-ins, or any non-violent action, is not only, for example, to demonstrate on the Congressional floor or in the streets, but the necessity of knowing and sharing what needs to be changed. In non-violent tactics, this means to ‘confront the other party with a list of injustices and a plan for addressing and resolving these injustices.’ In the 1980s, I worked for Coretta Scott King as director of the King Center’s ‘Non-Violent Social Change Program’ and taught these non-violent methods to interns with John Lewis’ advice and help. In fact, John Lewis, and the renowned activist James Orange, would come to the King Center to help in the training. We would sit there for hours as the youth would ask questions of these two remarkable leaders. Most want to see the demise of racism and white supremacy, but invariably there is a need for clarity on how that can be accomplished. This requires a dialogue within the group to develop the ideas for these concrete and important changes. Below are what King defined as the Triple Evils in the world that John Lewis fought against throughout his entire career.

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue

The King of Philosophy TRIPLE EVILS The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and MILITARISM are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. Poverty - unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, infant mortality, slums... “There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty ... The well off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the least of these.” Racism - prejudice, apartheid, ethnic conflict, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, discrimination against disabled groups, stereotypes... “Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission. It is the absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the progress of the future. Racism is total estrangement. It separates not only bodies, but minds and spirits. Inevitably it descends to inflicting spiritual and physical homicide upon the outgroup.” Militarism - war, imperialism, domestic violence, rape, terrorism, human trafficking, media violence, drugs, child abuse, violent crime... “A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war- ‘This way of settling differences is not just.’ This way of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” Source: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1967.

We Join the SCLC in honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1200 4th Avenue North Birmingham, AL 1-800-633-8431 America’s First Federal Credit Union supports equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age, disability or ethnic background.

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On February 14, 1957 a group of pastors and leaders, gathered under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to form an organization to bring nonviolent direct action to empower and bring freedom to Black Americans under the umbrella of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

April 4, 1968, a tragic day, when an assassin’s bullet took the life of Dr. King. But it did not take the life out his movement, instead it provided the spark that brought light to his life’s work on nonviolent direct action and change.

The Love and Light Campaign supports the history, the work and the future of the SCLC. As you join, you help us continue to fulfill our mission of “Redeeming the Soul of America!”

Please head to http://nationalsclc.org/lal for more information

SCLC National Magazine/ Convention 2021 Issue