Behind the Revs. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy and Joseph Lowery, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a steady force at the front of the civil rights movement. Now — as it faces another of many recent shake-ups at the top — its own future is on tremulous ground.
“We’re at a really critical point in the history of our organization,” the Rev. Bernard LaFayette Jr., the SCLC’s chairman, said last week during its national board meeting in Atlanta.
LaFayette said then that the board was deliberating the fate of King’s nephew, Isaac Farris Jr., who was appointed president of the 55-year-old organization only about eight months ago. Financial management of the organization was among the issues raised at that meeting.
Friday afternoon, the SCLC announced that Farris would no longer be its president. It named the Rev. C.T. Vivian, 87, as interim president. Vivian said Friday that a search is now on for a new president who will be young enough to deal with “the rigors of time.”
Farris’ departure continues a cycle of short terms in the office. When he took over after the death of the Rev. Howard W. Creecy, Farris became the SCLC’s fifth president in the past eight years. Creecy, who became president after a period of infighting and legal troubles, had only been on the job about six months when a heart attack took his life.
“We’ve never had this many challenges,” LaFayette said. “The one thing we can say in each situation is that we came out victoriously. In spite of the tragedies we have suffered, we stand firm and we stand ready.”
Some of the current challenges are practical ones.
During last week’s board meeting, SCLC Vice Chairman Donald Cash painted a startling picture of an organization facing serious issues. Cash and others raised a number of points at the meeting, and tax documents point to other concerns. They include:
● The organization’s most recent 990 tax filing, which all nonprofits are required to file annually with the Internal Revenue Service, was for 2009. That document showed the organization reporting a loss of $265,655 in 2009.
● Current income for the group is about $13,500 per month, with roughly $8,000 going toward overhead expenses, including about $1,000 in payments on overdue bills.
● SCLC board members have no insurance, placing them at risk if the organization is sued. “I sure like my house,” Cash told the board to stress the financial danger to which they are all exposed.
● Policies are lacking concerning conflicts of interest, whistle-blowing and use of the organization’s credit cards.
Experts on nonprofit management say those are serious concerns.
Dan Busby, president of the Virginia-based Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a voluntary accrediting organization for evangelical churches and nonprofits, said he couldn’t speak directly to the situation at the SCLC. But he identified a range of best practices that nonprofits should follow, including instituting whistleblower and conflict-of-interest policies and keeping up to date on 990s.
“Either file your 990s,” he said, “or you will soon find you’re not tax-exempt anymore. ... You just generally don’t want to run any risk with that. That one is what I call a deal-breaker.”
Dennis Young, director of the nonprofit studies program at Georgia State University, said the SCLC “sounds like they’re in somewhat disarray.”
“There are a number of things that should be in place just in terms of good practices, that’s for sure,” he said.
Young said the organization runs the risk of hurting its base of contributions.
“Donors don’t really want to give to organizations that look like this,” Young said. “They don’t want their funds to be used to patch holes in the financial landscape, but to be used constructively to provide programs.”
Besides those practical matters, though, some say the SCLC could be facing problems of image and vision.
Christine Young-Brown, president of the SCLC chapter for Newton and Rockdale counties, said she continues to have confidence in the SCLC’s future.
“It’s very relevant,” she said, “as long as people’s civil rights are violated.”
But Young-Brown also expressed frustration with the number of young people who don’t know about the history of groups like the SCLC and the NAACP. “They don’t know any of these organizations or the key players,” she said. “There’s some kind of generation gap there.”
Some experts question the SCLC’s ability to adapt to changes in society since its heyday. They say its influence has faded. They point to the SCLC’s successful effort — behind Farris’ cousin Martin Luther King III, who was also run out of the organization — to remove the Confederate flag from atop the South Carolina Capitol in 2000 as its last crowning achievement.
“Otherwise, the only time the SCLC makes the news is when something crazy happens in the organization. From a [public relations] standpoint, the SCLC is a nightmare,” said Andra Gillespie, an assistant professor of political science at Emory University who has researched civil rights groups.
Gillespie said groups like the NAACP and the National Urban League, while still engaging in civil activism, serve more as lobbying groups. Their members pay dues but don’t get actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the groups.
The SCLC, on the other hand — whose members still consider themselves the “moral consciences of America” — never transitioned out of social activism and still requires a lot from members.
“Groups like the SCLC ... depend on labor and activism,” Gillespie said. “You can’t expect that would last for such a long period of time.”
Gillespie said the organization also leans too heavily on the image of Martin Luther King Jr. and has essentially struggled since his death in 1968.
“The SCLC deserves credit for being able to survive as long as they have,” Gillespie said. “But it has been one negative event after another one for years. It makes it hard to predict that they will survive. I would think that in 20 years they are not going to be around. Maybe 10.”
LaFayette said King’s mission “has not been abandoned,” but he has set goals to revitalize the organization. He wants a young, diverse advisory board, including Native Americans, Hispanics and others. He also would like foreign affiliates.
Gillespie expressed some doubts. “They tried young leadership already. That is how MLK III emerged. ... But it didn’t work,” she said. “They need young people who have been taken seriously.”
About the Author
