Southern Christian Leadership Conference

==1997 to present==
In 1997, [[Martin Luther King III]] was unanimously elected to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, replacing [[Joseph Lowery]]. Under King's leadership, the SCLC held hearings on police brutality, organized a rally for the 37th anniversary of the "[[I Have a Dream]]" [[public speech|speech]] and launched a successful campaign to change the Georgia [[Flag of Georgia (U.S. state)|state flag]], which previously featured a large [[Confederate battle flag|Confederate cross]].<ref name="LAT0804" />

Within only a few months of taking the position, however, King was being criticized by the Conference board for alleged inactivity. He was accused of failing to answer correspondence from the board and take up issues important to the organization. The board also felt he failed to demonstrate against national issues the SCLC previously would have protested, like the disenfranchisement of black voters in the [[Florida election recount]] or time limits on welfare recipients implemented by then-[[President of the United States|President]] [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="NYT0726" /> King was further criticized for failing to join the battle against [[AIDS]], allegedly because he feels uncomfortable talking about [[condom]]s.<ref name="LAT0804">[[Jeffrey Gettleman|Gettleman, Jeffrey]]. [http://articles.latimes.com/2001/aug/04/news/mn-30468 "M.L. King III: Father's path hard to follow."] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', August 5, 2001. Retrieved on September 14, 2008.</ref> He also hired Lamell J. McMorris, an executive director who, according to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "rubbed board members the wrong way."<ref name="NYT0726">Firestone, David. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06EFDC173DF935A15754C0A9679C8B63 "A civil rights group suspends, then reinstates, its president."] ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 26, 2001. Retrieved on August 28, 2008.</ref>

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference suspended King from the presidency in June 2001, concerned that he was letting the organization drift into inaction. In a June 25 letter to King, the group's national chairman at the time, Claud Young, wrote, "You have consistently been insubordinate and displayed inappropriate, obstinate behavior in the (negligent) carrying out of your duties as president of SCLC."<ref name="NYT0726" /> King was reinstated only one week later after promising to take a more active role. Young said of the suspension, "I felt we had to use a [[lumber|two-by-four]] to get his attention. Well, it got his attention all right."<ref name="NYT0726" />

After he was reinstated, King prepared a four-year plan outlining a stronger direction for the organization, agreeing to dismiss McMorris and announcing plans to present a strong challenge to the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|George W. Bush administration]] in an August convention in [[Montgomery, Alabama]].<ref name="NYT0726" /> He also planned to concentrate on racial profiling, prisoners' rights, and closing the digital divide between whites and blacks.<ref name="LAT0804" /> However, King also suggested in a statement that the group needed a different approach than it had used in the past, stating, "We must not allow our lust for 'temporal gratification' to blind us from making difficult decisions to effect future generations."<ref name="NYT0726" />

Martin Luther King III resigned in 2004, upon which [[Fred Shuttlesworth]] was elected to replace him. Shuttlesworth resigned the same year that he was appointed, complaining that "deceit, mistrust, and a lack of spiritual discipline and truth have eaten at the core of this once-hallowed organization".<ref>{{cite news
   | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43758-2004Nov11.html
   | title = President of Beleaguered Civil Rights Group Resigns
   | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]
| date=November 12, 2004
| access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Charles Steele Jr.]] who served until October 2009.

On October 30, 2009, Elder [[Bernice King]], King's youngest child, was elected SCLC's new president, with [[James Bush III]] taking office in February 2010 as Acting President/CEO until Bernice King took office. However, on January 21, 2011, fifteen months after her election, Bernice King declined the position of president. In a written statement, she said that her decision came "after numerous attempts to connect with the official board leaders on how to move forward under my leadership, unfortunately, our visions did not align."<ref>{{cite news
   | url = http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/bernice-king-declines-sclc-811426.html
   | title = Bernice King Declines SCLC Presidency
   | work = [[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]
| date=January 21, 2011
| access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref>