HLS 15RS-4246 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 153
BY REPRESENTATIVE GAINES
COMMENDATIONS: Commends the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and
welcomes its 57th National Convention to Baton Rouge in July of 2015
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for its commitment to social,
3 economic, and political justice and to welcome its national convention to Baton
4 Rouge in July of 2015.
5 WHEREAS, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the Southern Christian Leadership
6Conference (SCLC) is a nonsectarian advocacy organization established by the late
7Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and other notable civil rights leaders in 1957 to coordinate
8and assist local organizations working for the equality of African Americans in all aspects
9of American life; and
10 WHEREAS, the SCLC was organized in New Orleans, Louisiana, and its inaugural
11meeting was held on February 14, 1957, at New Zion Baptist Church in New Orleans; and
12 WHEREAS, the SCLC had a significant role in organizing the civil rights march in
13Washington, D.C., and in notable antidiscrimination and voter registration efforts in Albany,
14Georgia, and Birmingham and Selma, Alabama; and
15 WHEREAS, the visibility of the SCLC during the civil rights movement, particularly
16the courageous efforts displayed during the Selma movement, laid the groundwork for the
17passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
18 WHEREAS, SCLC's nonviolent protests, advocacy, and direct action ensured that
19civil rights would be placed at the top of the national agenda, securing equal rights for
20African Americans and helping to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the civil rights
21movement; and
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HR NO. 153
1 WHEREAS, the SCLC aims to promote spiritual principles within its membership
2and local communities, educate youth and adults in the areas of personal responsibility,
3leadership potential, and community service, ensure economic justice and civil rights in the
4areas of discrimination and affirmative action, and eradicate racism; and
5 WHEREAS, SCLC influence and interest has become international in scope because
6the human rights movement transcends national boundaries; and
7 WHEREAS, in July of 2015, the SCLC will hold its fifty-seventh National
8Convention in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
10Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the Southern Christian Leadership
11Conference for its commitment to achieve social, economic, and political justice and does
12hereby welcome its fifty-seventh National Convention to Baton Rouge in July of 2015.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
14to Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Southern Christian
15Leadership Conference.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 153 Original 2015 Regular Session Gaines
Commends the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and welcomes its 57th
National Convention to Baton Rouge, La., in July of 2015.
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