February marks Black History Month. Follow the AJC this month for a series of short stories and videos and people, places and events that played a significant role in the development of black people in America.

No. 4

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In early 1957, less than a month after orchestrating victory in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. found himself in need of an organizational base to coordinate and support nonviolent direct action as a method of fighting racism. On Jan. 10, 1957, King invited Bayard Rustin and Ella Baker -- along with a host of ministers including, Joseph Lowery, Ralph David Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth – to Ebenezer Baptist Church to talk about forming what would be known as the SCLC. King was elected president, a post he held until his death in 1968.

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8/26/17 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia leaders, including Gov. Nathan Deal, Sandra Deal, members of the King family, and Rep. Calvin Smyre,  were on hand for unveiling of the first statue of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the statehouse grounds, more than three years after Gov. Nathan Deal first announced the project.  During the hour-long ceremony leading to the unveiling of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the state Capitol on Monday, many speakers, including Gov. Nathan Deal, spoke of King's biography. The statue was unveiled on the anniversary of King's famed "I Have Dream" speech. BOB ANDRES  /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres