Oral history interview with Septima Poinsette Clark, July 30, 1976

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Septima Clark was hired by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to continue the voter registration and community education classes she had taught through the Highlander Folk School. She recalls some of the successes of her work with the S.C.L.C., especially the passing of the Voting Rights Act. The challenges of the work included prejudice against the female leaders in the organization, violent reactions by local police and Ku Klux Klan, and occasional class prejudice amongst SCLC leaders. Clark notes how several leaders needed to learn techniques for serving poor rural people, and she often corrected their misunderstandings. She compares the leadership strategies of Andrew Young, Wyatt T. Walker, and Ralph Abernathy and explains why the organization flourished under the influence of certain civil rights workers like Young and Jesse Jackson.