Explorations in Black Leadership

Co-Directed by Phyllis Leffler & Julian Bond

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Founded in April 1960 at Shaw University, the committee led the sit-in student protest movements that occurred across the South during the civil rights movement. Ella Baker organized the conference, attendees of which conceived a community based student-run group to coordinate protests. Nonviolence was strongly stated in its guiding documents, and Marion Barry was the first elected chairman. SNCC students and leaders worked on the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the 1963 March on Washington. Notable members include Julian Bond, James Lawson, John Lewis, Bob Moses, Diane Nash, and Stokely Carmichael.