From its beginning in 1957, its leader was Martin Luther King – a post he held until his murder in 1968. As its title recommends, the contribution to the SCLC came essentially from the congregation. The congregation had a noteworthy influence in the lives of African-Americans in the South and church pioneers assumed a critical part in each dark network in all parts of the South.

Martin Luther King was a Baptist serve at Dexter Avenue in Montgomery when Rosa Parks made her renowned remain against transport law in December 1955. He moved toward becoming a leader of the MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) and assumed a key part in the blacklist – notwithstanding driving the boycotters to work to guarantee that they didn't have to utilize a transport. In each sense, it would have been normal that a churchman would have assumed a key part in MIA and King himself stated:
The SCLC united all the different strands of social liberties associations and put them under one association.
•    This point accentuated the conviction by the SCLC that not every single white Southerner were bigot and gave the chance to expedite whites board the reason for the SCLC. By utilizing the word 'Negro' in its unique title, the development viably blanked out any possibility that white Southerners may encourage them. The adjustment in title defeated this.
•    Black Americans were urged to "look for equity and reject all shamefulness."
•    All those related with SCLC needed to acknowledge the reasoning of peacefulness paying little mind to the incitement. The SCLC's 'maxim' was "not one hair of one head of one white individual will be hurt."

Rustin trusted that numerous southern urban areas has their own social liberties bunches that just worked for the general population inside the zone where these gatherings worked. Rustin trusted that every one of these gatherings required co-ordinating so they could augment their adequacy. This was the rationale behind the SCLC – it was a body that could co-ordinate, exhort and build up the work done by the various social liberties bunches that existed at a nearby level in the southern states. Martin Luther King was thought to be the best individual to head such an association and he was chosen its leader.

The SCLC helped dark Americans in enlisting to vote, it opened citizenship schools, yet over all it lectured the utilization of peacefulness in all battles related with its name. It needed to introduce social equality to America and the world as an ethical issue.

In November 1961, SCLC included itself in social equality issues in Albany, Georgia. Nonetheless, the response of the city specialists implied that the crusade got next to no media scope. Lord realized that the soul of the social equality development was the publicizing of the out of line that existed in the South. The city experts in Albany declined to take the lure of showings and so forth and the SCLC crusade in the city was considered to be a disappointment – there was little media scope and minimal changed in the city.

This changed with what occurred in Birmingham in 1963. Here the response of the city specialists, drove byBull Connor, prompted universal shock – similarly as King had trusted. The utilization of police canines and high weight fire hoses against demonstrators – including youngsters – stunned many. TV clasps of individuals acting in a peaceful way being assaulted by puppies and hoses incited shocked and appeared to exemplify the bigotry that was found in the South. Because of this SCLC exhibit, Birmingham moved towards integration – yet what was appeared on TV crosswise over America in Birmingham was, it is stated, to have stunned the president, J F Kennedy, and brought into being the 1964 Civil Rights Act.