Soul Force: Official Journal of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference vol. 4 no. 3: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Soul Force newsletter, volume 4, number 3. The newsletter is printed on newsprint paper with black type. The newsletter is folded together but not stapled. The front cover features a black-and-white composite image of a large line of men and women who appear to be marching. The images are arranged in perspective with the people at the front of the line, depicted larger, and the people behind them are depicted gradually smaller and smaller. Some appear to be singing, one woman is clapping, and one man near the back is holding his hand in a black power salute. Most of the individuals are depicted walking towards the right edge of the cover, however one man is depicted front and center, facing the viewer. He wears overalls over a short sleeve shirt, a hat, and work boots and both of his arms are resting inside the front panel of his overalls. Text printed below him reads [“there will be liberty and justice for all or there will be / no liberty or justice for any”]. Printed in the top third of the front cover is the masthead on the left that reads, [SOUL / force], and the date on the right that reads, [April / 1971]. The back cover is formatted like a post card. The newsletter is fifteen pages, and includes articles written in black text and black-and-white images and graphics throughout. On page 2 is a resolution presented by the Board of Directors of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference calling for a cease-fire in the Vietnam War, withdrawal of patronage from the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), an overhaul of the legal and penal system, and a call to join the SCLC’s War Against Repression. Articles titles include: [W.A.R. / bill of particulars], [A&P / ON / STRIKE], [WALL ST., / what about hunger?], [LET THE CHURCH SAY… AMEN], and [Milledgeville, / …repression]. Page 13 also includes a poem titled [Who killed at Mylai?] by Jackson H. Day. On the last page is an advertisement for an upcoming Southeastern Christian Leadership (SCLC) event. The first page, located on the interior of front cover, lists the Editorial Board members, editorial staff names, and press names, along with the volume and issue number.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: April 1971
• Written by: Rev. Dr. Joseph Echols Lowery, American, 1921 - 2020
• Published by: Southern Christian Leadership Conference, American, founded 1957
• Edited by: Stoney Cooks, American, 1943 - 2023
• Photograph by: Elaine Tomlin, American, died 1995
• Subject of: T.Y. Rogers, American, 1935 - 1971
• Subject of: Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, American, 1926 - 1990
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Subject of: The Rev. Jackson H. Day, American
• Type: newsletters
• Medium: ink on newsprint
• Dimensions: H x W (Closed): 10 3/8 × 8 5/16 in. (26.4 × 21.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Open): 10 3/8 × 16 1/2 in. (26.4 × 41.9 cm)
• Place printed: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Communication
• Topic: Economics
• Topic: Poverty
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
• Object number: 2015.130.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.