Southern Christian Leadership Conference Founded After Montgomery Victory

On January 10-11, 1957, sixty Black ministers and civil rights leaders meet at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Martin Luther King Jr. is elected president. The organization uses the Black church as its organizational base, coordinating nonviolent direct action across the South. Ella Baker becomes the first executive director, setting up headquarters in Atlanta. The SCLC becomes the primary organizational vehicle for King's national civil rights leadership.