ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 144
BY REPRESENTATIVE GAINES
A RESOLUTION
To commend the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for its commitment to achieve
social, economic, and political justice and to welcome its national convention to
Baton Rouge in July of 2015.
WHEREAS, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) is a nonsectarian advocacy organization established by the late
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and his followers in 1957 to coordinate and assist local
organizations working for the equality of African Americans in all aspects of American life;
and
WHEREAS, the SCLC was organized in New Orleans, Louisiana, and its inaugural
meeting was held in February of 1957 at New Zion Baptist Church in New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, the SCLC had a significant role in the civil rights march in Washington,
D.C., and in notable antidiscrimination and voter registration efforts in Albany, Georgia, and
Birmingham and Selma, Alabama; and
WHEREAS, the visibility of the SCLC during the civil rights movement helped with
the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
WHEREAS, the SCLC aims to promote spiritual principles within its membership
and local communities, educate youth and adults in the areas of personal responsibility,
leadership potential, and community service, ensure economic justice and civil rights in the
areas of discrimination and affirmative action, and eradicate racism; and
WHEREAS, in July of 2015, the SCLC will hold its fifty-seventh National
Convention in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference for its commitment to achieve social, economic, and political justice and does
hereby welcome its fifty-seventh National Convention to Baton Rouge in July of 2015.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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