[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP 
                               CONFERENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Saturday, August 4, 2007

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I wish to commemorate the 
Southern Christian Leadership Conference's, SCLC, 50th Anniversary. 
Committed to obtaining and securing equal rights for African Americans 
and human rights for all people, the SCLC is a prominent body of 
influence. The organization, along with others including the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the 
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), gave African 
Americans and other minorities a sense of pride when times seemed 
dismal and bleak.
  Beginning with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in December 1955, the then 
Southern Leadership Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent 
Integration was founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ralph David 
Abernathy. Although it was initially thought by some to be of an 
antagonist nature, in its early years the organization prided itself on 
education initiatives and voter registration campaigns to ensure that 
their young people had a voice in the political process. With the 
successful conclusion of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in February 1957, 
the group changed its name to the Southern Leadership Conference, 
widening their scale to reach a much larger audience. In August of the 
same year, the name was once again changed to the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference, the name the organization bears today.
  The initiatives and beliefs of the group, along with those of several 
others, culminated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on 
August 28, 1963, where an estimated 250,000 demonstrators came to the 
Mall, making the march the largest political rally of its time. At this 
historic march, Dr. King delivered his famous ``I Have a Dream'' 
speech, inspiring the masses in attendance and those viewing at home. 
The march was later seen as an integral part to the passing of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  Committed to the philosophy of its founding president, Dr. Martin 
Luther King, the SCLC has always prided itself on nonviolent protests 
and rallies, allowing the message to overshadow the brutality they were 
often met with.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in celebrating this 
marvelous organization and wishing them great success in the next 50 
years.

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