NEWS TODAY
A History of the Poor People’s Campaign in Real Time
The exhibition corresponds to the timeline of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last monumental social protest. On this site, we look at specific days from the Campaign, hoping to broaden the context of this history.
The 1968 campaign
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4/29/1968-Washington, D.C.- As he followers hold hands to form a path, Rev. Ralph Abernathy (C), head of the SCLC, and other leaders of the Poor People's Crusade march to the Labor dept., from the Justice dept. The group spent the day in talks with Cabinet members and other government officials. (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)
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Civil rights leader Rev. Ralph Abernathy shakes hands with Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman as the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and his Committee of 100 called at the Agriculture Department in Washington to outline a series of strong demands, April 29, 1968. (AP Photo/John Rous)
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4/30/1968-Washington, D.C.- Rev. Ralph Abernathy is a Man with much on his mind as he appears before the Senate Antipoverty Committee. leading an advance guard of the Poor People's Campaign. Abernathy demanded that Congress create a minimum of two million new jobs for the hard core unemployed. (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)
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Rev. Ralph Abernathy, leader of the Poor People's Campaign, is a witness before a Senate Labor and Public Welfare subcommittee in Washington during hearings on emergency employment legislation, April 30, 1968. Rev. Abernathy said the most pressing needs of the poor include a crash course of low income housing and meaningful job-training and job creation legislation. Beside Rev. Abernathy taking notes is Alberta Scott, a campaign worker. (AP Photo)
