the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
/ðə ˌsʌðən ˌkrɪstʃən ˈliːdəʃɪp kɒnfərəns/
/ðə ˌsʌðərn ˌkrɪstʃən ˈliːdərʃɪp kɑːnfərəns/
(abbreviation the SCLC)
- a US organization started by Martin Luther King in 1957 at the beginning of the civil rights movement. Its members were mostly African American church leaders. They supported peaceful protests and organized the large 1963 march on Washington, DC. After King was murdered, Ralph Abernathy became the head of SCLC (1968-77).