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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with James Lawson, October 24, 1983. Interview F-0029. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) See Entire Interview >>

Kelly Miller Smith and the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference

As president of the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference, Kelly Miller Smith took an active role in organizing and mobilizing people for the civil rights actions.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with James Lawson, October 24, 1983. Interview F-0029. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:
OK. What about Kelly Miller Smith?
JAMES A. LAWSON:
Kelly Miller Smith was president of the National Christian Leadership Conference; so he was in on all the executive sessions and then, of course, became chairperson of our negotiating committee in the public phase of things. Became the chairperson of our negotiating committee.
DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:
Uh ha.
JAMES A. LAWSON:
So his role and, of course many other roles, he was supportive, he offered to trust with us. His church was the headquarters, for the actual demonstrations. He helped to mobilize different units of the community, like the lawyers, the public officials, behind the whole thing.