SCLC was founded in 1957. Some of the people who founded it were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, and Ralph Abernathy.

The organization was started after the Montgomery Bus Boycott led the Supreme Court of the United States in 1956 to let blacks sit wherever they wanted to on the bus. The bus boycott was a success. Some of the people who had worked in the Montgomery Bus Boycott decided to form the organization called SCLC. SCLC's goal was to end segregation and get social justice for blacks. They worked for their goal by having sit-ins and breaking the law non-violently.

One of the methods they used to reach their goal was city-wide protests to create resistance. SCLC hoped white officials would be forced to end segregation of public facilities.

In Albany, Georgia, SCLC tried to force white officials to end segregation if they wanted to bring back business. They marched and fought for their rights. Albanyís police chief put so many people in jail that the protests stopped.

In Birmingham, Alabama, SCLC talked to the police commissioner Bull Connor, and they asked teenagers and children to join the marches. Connor sent attack dogs and used high water pressure hoses against the marchers. People helped the Civil Rights Movement more when they saw young people getting bit by dogs and hit with lots of water on television.

The protests by the people caused the desegregation of restrooms, drinking fountains, lunch counters, and fitting rooms throughout Birmingham in the spring of 1963. Business people also decided to hire and promote black workers.

People can learn to be non-violent from SCLC. They got what they wanted even though they were non-violent.