{"id":1623,"date":"2010-04-29T15:05:11","date_gmt":"2010-04-29T20:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=1623"},"modified":"2012-03-30T10:56:39","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T15:56:39","slug":"the-second-phase-of-civil-rights-photographs-of-the-1968-poor-peoples-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=1623","title":{"rendered":"The Second Phase of Civil Rights: Photographs of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Coretta Scott King with campaign organizers, including SCLC leader Ralph Abernathy locking arms to her left. Photo taken from the Jack Rottier Collection.<\/p><\/div>\n

In December of 1967, when nearly 15 percent of all Americans and 40 percent of African Americans lived below the poverty line, Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began organizing a national campaign against poverty. The Poor People’s Campaign was to inaugurate a new phase of civil rights extending the struggle for racial equality to the cause of economic justice in America’s slums. On April 4, 1968, while campaigning for black sanitary workers in Memphis, King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Just a few weeks later the SCLC and King\u2019s grief-stricken widow, Coretta Scott, decided to push ahead with the campaign anyway. The next month, thousands of demonstrators gathered at the National Mall demanding federal action to alleviate poverty as SCLC leaders, joined by the National Welfare Rights Organization, lobbied Congress to introduce an “economic bill of rights” that would include $30 billion for the creation of employment programs and low-income housing and a guaranteed minimum annual income for all Americans.<\/p>\n

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Demonstrators on the National Mall. Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection. Photo \u00a9 SEPS<\/p><\/div>\n

On May 12, 1968 the first wave of demonstrators poured into Washington, DC from across the East Coast and Midwest. Over the following weeks, they erected an encampment of makeshift huts on the National Mall, dubbed \u201cResurrection City,\u201d where they resided for the duration of the campaign. In addition to Coretta Scott King, the SCLC, and the National Welfare Rights Organization, numerous activist groups and leaders joined the campaign, including Jesse Jackson, members of the United Auto Workers, and the DC chapter of the New York-based anarchist group, \u201cUp Against the Wall.\u201d Campaigners occupied the National Mall for over a month, enduring heavy rains as they lobbied congress and marched through Washington spreading awareness of the cause. But after suffering a series of setbacks\u2014from muddy conditions and a lack of press coverage to conflicting strategies and the assassination of Robert Kennedy\u2014demonstrators lost morale, and the campaign died out. Resurrection City closed down on June 19th.<\/p>\n

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Jesse Jackson addressing a crowd on the Mall. Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection. Photo \u00a9 SEPS<\/p><\/div>\n

Though less prominent than the Vietnam War protests of the late 60s and less successful than the Civil Rights movement of the early 60s, the Poor People\u2019s Campaign evinced a widespread commitment to ending poverty in America and deserves a place in the public memory.
\n\u062e\u0631\u06cc\u062f vpn<\/a><\/p>\n

The photographs displayed here contribute to the preservation of that memory. They were selected from the extensive Ollie Atkins Collection<\/a> and the recently acquired Jack Rottier Collection<\/a>, which document politics and culture in Washington, DC from the 1950s through the 1970s. A finding aid for the Rottier photographs has recently been completed, and the collection is now available for research. Both collections are open to the public and can be accessed at Special Collections and Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The National Welfare Rights Organization marching to end hunger. Photo from the Jack Rottier Collection.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Family of hippie activists camped out at Resurrection City. Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection. Photo \u00a9 SEPS<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

View of the Reflecting Pool from the Washington Monument with Resurrection City on the left. Photo taken from the Jack Rottier Collection.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In December of 1967, when nearly 15 percent of all Americans and 40 percent of African Americans lived below the poverty line, Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began organizing a national campaign against poverty. The Poor People’s Campaign was to inaugurate a new phase of civil rights extending the struggle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,162,5],"tags":[177,171,174,173,52,56,172,176,175],"class_list":["post-1623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-acquisitions","category-recently-processed","category-scrc-interest","tag-1960s","tag-civil-rights","tag-coretta-scott-king","tag-jesse-jackson","tag-ollie-atkins","tag-photographs","tag-poor-peoples-campaign","tag-ralph-abernathy","tag-sclc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-qb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8150,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8150","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":0},"title":"Before and Beyond 1968: Three Civil Rights Movements in America, an SCRC Exhibition","author":"Bob Vay","date":"December 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"SCRC's current exhibition documents three Civil Rights movements using archival materials in our holdings.\u00a0The exhibition will be on display until February 21, 2019.\u00a0 A reception for the exhibition will be held on Thursday, January 31, 2019 in SCRC, Fenwick 2400. The reception will include comments on the exhibition by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/correttascottking-300x234.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7243,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7243","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":1},"title":"Black History Month – Martin Luther King, Jr.","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"February 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Each February, the United States celebrates Black History Month, which underscores and celebrates the contributions of African American Culture to the American experience over hundreds of years. Black History Month also examines and highlights the terrible oppression African Americans have experienced during these hundreds of years, and those who fought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Collections"","block_context":{"text":"Digital Collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=557"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Atkins00323crop.jpg?fit=567%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Atkins00323crop.jpg?fit=567%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Atkins00323crop.jpg?fit=567%2C460&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6080,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6080","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":2},"title":"Civil Rights in the James H. Laue Papers","author":"admin","date":"January 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"James H. Laue was born in River Falls, Wisconsin, in 1937. In 1959, Laue was admitted to the Harvard graduate program in sociology where he studied race relations and the sociology of religion. During his graduate studies, Laue became involved in the Civil Rights movement, attending lunch counter sit-ins, church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GMU Fairfax Campus"","block_context":{"text":"GMU Fairfax Campus","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=272"},"img":{"alt_text":"Civil Rights Notebook-Atlanta Sit-In, page 19. James H. Laue papers, Collection #C0055, Box 53, Folder 02, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/C0036BO13072.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8182,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8182","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":3},"title":"Before and Beyond 1968: Margaret Fuller","author":"admin","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Emily Rusch, Research Services Assistant. Come visit Fenwick Library and check out our civil rights exhibit on the second floor! This exhibit highlights three different civil rights movements that took place in the United States. These three movements focused on equal rights for African-Americans, women,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Memoirs-of-Margaret-Fuller.jpg?fit=475%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2146,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2146","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":4},"title":"In Remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr","author":"admin","date":"January 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. was taken in January of 1964 when he spoke to reporters outside of the White House.\u00a0 Later that year King would return to the White House to witness the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This photograph is part of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography collections"","block_context":{"text":"Photography collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=198"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Atkins_ExhibitPhotosMLK2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2503,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2503","url_meta":{"origin":1623,"position":5},"title":"Notes from a Photograph Collection","author":"admin","date":"July 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Although the Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection contains tens of thousands of prints, negatives, and slides, there is also a small amount of papers that consist of handwritten notes, correspondence, and caption guidance forms.\u00a0 These documents assist with identification, such as the Ku Klux Klan photographs from December 1965 for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Klavern.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":104,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3409,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions\/3409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}