By Ryan Taylor, Project Archivist, MARBL and Michael R. Hall, Graduate Processing Assistant, MARBL
“Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations” is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.
The photographs of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are a rich and comprehensive look into the history of the civil rights struggle in America and a view into one of the movement’s most influential organizations. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the photographs documenting the SCLC’s National Conventions, which span over forty years and capture the spirit of those working within SCLC and the organization’s allies. Below are some selected images which highlight the sweeping breadth of the SCLC National Convention photographs.
NOTE: The Southern Christian Leadership records currently are closed for processing. They are expected to open Spring 2012. Please contact the archivist for more information.