SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference records [bulk 1968-2003]
>
Programs Department records >
Poor People's Campaign records
Southern Christian Leadership Conference records [bulk 1968-2003] > Programs Department records > Poor People's Campaign records
Subseries 10.3
Poor People's Campaign records, 1964-1988
Boxes 571 - 575
Historical Note
The Poor People's Campaign was an anti-poverty campaign initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Conceptualized by King as "the second phase" of the Civil Rights Movement, the Poor People's Campaign sought to place the issues of jobs, income, and housing for poor Americans on the national agenda. One of its principal objectives was to lobby the federal government for an "economic bill of rights" that would ensure economic justice for the nation's poor. After King's assassination, SCLC, now under the direction of Ralph David Abernathy, decided to proceed with the campaign in King's honor. The Poor People's Campaign was inaugurated by Coretta Scott King, who led female demonstrators to the nation's capital on Mother's Day 1968.
An important aspect of the Poor People's Campaign was Resurrection City, a fledgling township of tents and shacks constructed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. For over a month, protestors stayed in Resurrection City, as a testament of their allegiance to the Poor People's Campaign and as a dramatic demonstration of the plight of the poor in America. During this time, protestors urged the government to pass a housing bill, a jobs bill, and a repeal of the Social Security Act, among other demands and provisions.
Chapter II of the Poor People's Campaign began in the spring of 1969 and its focus was primarily on labor struggles in Charleston, South Carolina. The most significant campaign from Chapter II was SCLC's support of striking Local 1199B of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, better known as the Charleston Hospital Worker's strike, for which president Ralph David Abernathy went to jail. In the late 1980s, SCLC revived the Poor People's Campaign initiative under the name Poor People's Crusade. From 1987-1988, SCLC engaged in a number of activities, such as public hearings, to draw national attention to the continuing struggle of the American poor.
Scope and Content Note
The subseries consists of the records of the Poor People's Campaign from 1964-1988, including the iconic activities of 1968, Chapter II of the Poor People's Campaign in 1969, and the Poor People's Crusade from 1987-1988. In general the subseries consists of files relating to the planning and strategizing of each initiative. Records for the Poor People's Campaign (1968) include correspondence; reports; committee records; materials relating to the regional caravans that traveled to Washington D.C.; guidelines for the Poor People's Campaign staff; and UPI press clippings reporting the campaign. Also present are files relating to partner organizations. Records for Chapter II of the Poor People's Campaign and for the Poor People's Crusade are limited, but also contain correspondence and planning files.
For additional records relating to the planning and execution of the Poor People's Campaign see Subseries 2.2: Ralph David Abernathy files; Subseries 3.2: Andrew J. Young files; and Subseries 4.1: William A. Rutherford files. For additional records relating to Chapter II of the Poor People's Campaign, see Subseries 2.2: President Ralph David Abernathy files. For additional records relating to the Poor People's Crusade, see Subseries 2.3: President Joseph E. Lowery files and Series 7: Department of Direct Action records. For transcripts of speeches from all three campaigns see Series 11: Martin Luther King Speaks. For audio of speeches and events from all three campaigns, see Series 19: Audiovisual.
Arrangement Note
Arranged in alphabetical order.
Poor People's Campaign (1968) | ||
Box | Folder | Content |
---|---|---|
571 | 1 | Adopt a Family program, March 1968 |
571 | 2 | American Indians, 1964-1968 |
571 | 3 | The Benevolence Club of SCLC, 1968 |
571 | 4 | Black Brother of "Unity" Economic Club, undated |
571 | 5 | Brochure, draft, circa 1968 |
571 | 6 | The Cape May Conference of the Friends General Conference of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Washington, D.C., June 28, 1968 |
571 | 7 | Cartoons and sketches, circa 1968 |
571 | 8 | Committees, declaration committee, March-April 1968 |
571 | 9 | Committees, general service and administration, 1968 |
571 | 10 | Committees, health services coordinating committee, 1968 |
571 | 11 | Committees, legal redress, July 1968 |
571 | 12 | Committees, minority group steering, 1968 |
571 | 13 | Committees, public relations, March-June 1968 |
571 | 14 | Committees, support and recruitment, 1968 |
571 | 15 | "Community Representation of Resurrection City," 1968 |
571 | 16 | "Concerned black clergy [and] area black churches/mosques list," undated |
571 | 17 | "Coordination of the Poor People's March: A Working Paper," undated |
571 | 18 | Correspondence, undated |
571 | 19 | Correspondence, 1966-1967 |
571 | 20 | Correspondence, 1968 January-May |
571 | 21 | Correspondence, 1968 June-December |
571 | 22 | "The Cry of Resurrection City Residents," undated |
571 | 23 | Daily program logs, December 1968 |
571 | 24 | "Demands of the Poor People's Campaign," 1968 |
571 | 25 | Department of Mobilization for SCLC's Washington Poor People's Campaign, 1968 |
571 | 26 | "Economic Boycott Target Cities," diagram, July 1, 1968 |
571 | 27 | "Fact Sheet on Hunger," undated |
571 | 28 | Financial records, fact sheet and weekly budget information, April 22, 1968 |
571 | 29 | Financial records, telephone allowance, undated |
571 | 30 | Financial report, 1968 |
571 | 31 | Get Out the Vote tour, October-November 1968 |
571 | 32 | Gollin, Albert E., "The Demography of Protest: A Statistical Profile of Participants in the Poor People's Campaign," August 5, 1968 |
571 | 33 | "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Senator!" political cartoon by Brant Parker [?], undated |
571 | 34 | Haycraft, J. Edward, draft press releases, undated |
571 | 35 | Haycraft, J. Edward, undated |
571 | 36 | "Highlights in the History of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference," undated |
571 | 37 | Hunter, Charlayne A., "On the Case of Resurrection City," October 1968 |
571 | 38 | Information for Poor People's Campaign marshals, 1968 |
571 | 39 | "Is Poverty My Problem?," pamphlet, 1968 |
571 | 40 | "Issue: Crime and the Poor," circa 1968 |
571 | 41 | Labor unions, 1968 |
571 | 42 | Legal information sheet, undated |
571 | 43 | List of entertainment for the SCLC Poor People's Campaign, 1968 |
572 | 1 | Map of Resurrection City, Washington, D.C., May 25, 1968 |
572 | 2 | Meeting agendas and minutes, 1968 |
572 | 3 | Memoranda, January-October 1968 |
572 | 4 | Mexican American participation in the Poor People's Campaign, 1968 |
572 | 5 | Minority Group Conference, March 14, 1968 |
572 | 6 | NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 1968 |
572 | 7 | National and area offices, 1968 |
572 | 8 | National Basketball Players Association, May-June 1968 |
572 | 9 | National Solidarity Day, Washington, D.C., June 19, 1968 |
572 | 10 | National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of the United States, undated |
572 | 11 | National Welfare Rights Organization, 1968 |
572 | 12 | "Needs of the Poor People's Campaign," 1968 |
572 | 13 | Nonviolent training course, 1968 |
572 | 14 | Notes, undated |
572 | 15 | "Payton's Answers to People's Questions," undated |
572 | 16 | The People's Committee for Better Buses, Daytona Beach, Florida, May-August 1969 |
572 | 17 | Personnel, contact information for staff and committee members, undated |
572 | 18 | Personnel, Poor People's Campaign structure and job descriptions, undated |
572 | 19 | Personnel, staff assignments and appointments, 1968 |
572 | 20 | Personnel, staff rosters, 1967-1968 |
572 | 21 | Poor People's Campaign Action Committee, March-April 1968 |
572 | 22 | Poor People's Campaign, Bay Area, California, June 1968 |
572 | 23 | Poor People's Campaign checklist, undated |
572 | 24 | Poor People's Campaign Committees, March 18, 1965 |
572 | 25 | Poor People's Campaign gains, 1968 |
572 | 26 | Poor People's Campaign, Harlem, New York, August 1968 |
572 | 27 | Poor People's Campaign, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, undated |
572 | 28 | Poor People's Campaign proposal, April 28, 1968 |
572 | 29 | Poor People's Campaign registration cards, 1968 |
572 | 30 | Poor People's Campaign schedules, 1968 |
572 | 31 | Poor People's Campaign, spring project preparations, 1968 |
572 | 32 | Poor People's Campaign Student Task Force, 1968 |
572 | 33 | Poor People's Campaign, Trenton, New Jersey, 1968 |
573 | 1 | Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., 1968 |
573 | 2 | Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., notebook, May-June 1968 |
573 | 3 | Poor People's Development Fund, undated |
573 | 4 | Poor People's Embassy, 1968-1969 |
573 | 5 | Poor People's University, Washington, D.C., 1968 |
573 | 6 | Press releases, May-June 1968 |
573 | 7 | "A Proposal for a film about Resurrection City," undated |
573 | 8 | "Prospective Partner List," undated |
573 | 9 | Public relations, 1968 |
573 | 10 | "Puerto Ricans March to Washington as Part of the Poor People's Campaign," position paper, June 15, 1968 |
573 | 11 | Quaker Direct Action Corps, undated |
573 | 12 | Refugees of Resurrection City, U.S.A. for Human Rights, 1968 |
573 | 13 | Regional caravans, eastern leg of the Poor People's Campaign, 1968 |
573 | 14 | Regional caravans, mid-west leg of the Poor People's Campaign, May 1968 |
573 | 15 | Regional caravans, western leg of the Poor People's Campaign, May 1968 |
573 | 16 | Registration form, undated |
573 | 17 | Report, "Hungry Children," Southern Regional Council, circa 1960s |
573 | 18 | Reports, program coordinators, August 13, 1968 |
573 | 19 | Reports, weekly, March 1968 |
573 | 20 | "Resurrection City: America's Rorschach Test," position paper, undated |
573 | 21 | Rustin, Bayard, "From Protest to Politics: The Future of the Civil Rights Movement," February 1964 |
573 | 22 | Security detail for Poor People's Campaign, 1968 |
573 | 23 | Shannon, Kay, "Terror in the Night," undated |
573 | 24 | Song sheet #1, 1968 |
573 | 25 | Southern Christian Leadership Conference Union Committee, undated |
573 | 26 | Speeches and statements, circa 1968 |
573 | 27 | Sponsoring organizations for the Poor People's Campaign, 1968 |
573 | 28 | Staff guides, "Poor People in America: Economic Fact Sheet for Poor People's Campaign," January 1968 |
573 | 29 | Staff guides, "Questions and Answers about the Washington Campaign," January 1968 |
573 | 30 | Staff guides," Statement of Purpose: Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C., January 1968 |
573 | 31 | Staff guides, "Suggested Reading List for SCLC Staff," January 1, 1968 |
573 | 32 | Staff guides, "Washington Guidebook Part I: Training Materials," January 1, 1968 |
573 | 33 | "Statement of Demands for Rights of the Poor Presented to Agencies of the U.S. Government by the Poor People's Campaign and its Committee of 100," April 29-May 1, 1968 |
574 | 1 | "Statement of Purpose: Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C.," undated |
574 | 2 | Suber, Eddie, information card, undated |
574 | 3 | "To the President, Congress and Supreme Court of the United States," February 6, 1968 |
574 | 4 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [1 of 11] |
574 | 5 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [2 of 11] |
574 | 6 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [3 of 11] |
574 | 7 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [4 of 11] |
574 | 8 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [5 of 11] |
574 | 9 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [6 of 11] |
574 | 10 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [7 of 11] |
574 | 11 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [8 of 11] |
574 | 12 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [9 of 11] |
574 | 13 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [10 of 11] |
575 | 1 | United Press International, clippings, 1968 [11 of 11] |
575 | 2 | U.S. Department of Agriculture, undated |
575 | 3 | U.S. Department of Labor, 1968 |
575 | 4 | U.S. House Bill on Poor People's Campaign, undated |
575 | 5 | Violence in Resurrection City, 1968 |
575 | 6 | Volunteer office and procurement, 1968 |
575 | 7 | War Resisters League, undated |
575 | 8 | Washington Urban League, 1968 |
575 | 9 | "We Struggle to End Hunger in America," 1968 |
575 | 10 | "Who's Who in SCLC in the Poor People's Campaign," April 28, 1968 |
575 | 11 | Women Strike for Peace, 1968 |
575 | 12 | Writings by others, undated |
575 | 13 | Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, June 1969 |
Poor People's Campaign, Chapter II (1969) | ||
575 | 14 | Caravan schedule, circa 1969 |
575 | 15 | Charleston Project, South Carolina, 1969 |
575 | 16 | Correspondence, undated |
575 | 17 | "Demands of the Poor People's Campaign," undated |
575 | 18 | Hunger March on Washington, 1969 |
575 | 19 | Memoranda, 1969 |
575 | 20 | "Person's Recruiting for 2nd Chapter PPC," undated |
575 | 21 | "Poor People's Campaign Chapter II," July 1969 |
575 | 22 | Presentation of Demands by the Committee of 100, Washington, D.C., May 12-16, 1969 |
575 | 23 | "Projected Scenarios," 1969 |
575 | 24 | Requisition for printed material, 1969 |
The Poor People's Crusade (1987-1988) | ||
575 | 25 | Anti-Apartheid activities in Atlanta, Georgia, undated |
575 | 26 | Birthday observances for Martin Luther King, Jr., 1988 |
575 | 27 | Brochure, draft, undated |
575 | 28 | "Christmas Call to the Nation from National Black Leaders," undated |
575 | 29 | "Contract Agreement," fragment, undated |
575 | 30 | Correspondence, 1987 |
575 | 31 | Curriculum material, undated |
575 | 32 | Davenport, Brenda, "Youth and Student Organizing Manual for the Poor People's Campaign," undated |
575 | 33 | History of the Poor People's Crusade, undated |
575 | 34 | "Key Cities and Persons Responsible for Hearings," undated |
575 | 35 | The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Pilgrimage for Economic Justice, 1988 |
575 | 36 | Meeting minutes and agendas, circa 1988 |
575 | 37 | Memoranda, 1987 |
575 | 38 | National Committee for Independent Political Action, Montgomery, Alabama chapter, undated |
575 | 39 | Planning document, draft, undated |
575 | 40 | Poor People's Crusade hearing, Atlanta, Georgia, April 4, 1987 |
575 | 41 | Poor People's Crusade hearing, Detroit, Michigan, November 14, 1987 |
575 | 42 | Poor People's Crusade hearing, Gulfport, Mississippi, June 26, 1987 |
575 | 43 | Poor People's Crusade hearing, Montgomery, Alabama, June 5, 1987 |
575 | 44 | Poor People's Crusade proposal, undated |
575 | 45 | Poor People's Platform, 1988 |
575 | 46 | Poor People's Summit '88, January 15, 1988 |
575 | 47 | Proposed budget, undated |