Southern Christian Leadership Conference SCOPE Project

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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched a campaign to promote voter registration among African-Americans in the South. The project known as The Summer Community Organization and Political Education or SCOPE, began in 1965 and lasted until 1966. The project was launched in 120 counties throughout the South to encourage and embolden African-Americans to vote and resist segregationist policies. Many activists for the SCLC were not met with open arms by many Southerners. Reports of beatings, threats of violence especially with guns, and even being tear gassed were common as White Southerners saw the SCLC as agitators. Overall, the program was a success with over 49,000 new voters registered, many citizens were given political literacy classes, and were exposed to different ideology from the influx of college students and activists.