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Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Facts

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Facts
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a left-wing activist organization and civil rights group active during the 1960s. Formed as part of the "New Left" and part of the emerging student protest movement, the SNCC was instrumental in organizing the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s and later played a major role in black voter registration throughout the deep south. The SNCC was formed in 1960 by civil rights icon Ella Baker as a way for young Americans of all races to become more engaged in government. Initially taking a strong pacifist stance, the SNCC went in a more radical direction under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael, who advocated the "black power" philosophy from within the organization. The SNCC folded in 1976 due to a number of reasons. The political and legal success of the Civil Rights movement meant that there were no longer many legal barriers for SNCC to fight against, while more radical groups such as the Black Panthers attracted members who saw Black Power and revolution as viable alternatives to working within the system.
Interesting Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Facts:
In its early years of existence, most of the SNCC's activities took place in the south, particularly Georgia and Mississippi.
The SNCC was often referred by its acronym and pronounced "Snik."
The SNCC was one of the main organizations that organized "sit-ins" in segregated lunch counters and other racially segregated public venues across the south.
Former Washington mayor, Marion Berry, was the first chairman of the SNCC from 1960-1961.
During the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s and during voter registration campaigns for blacks, SNCC members were subjected to violence.
The SNCC was responsible were establishing many "Freedom Schools" across the deep south where black children were given basic education and adults were registered to vote.
Current Georgia U.S. Congressman, John Lewis, was chairman of the SNCC from 1963-1966.
The SNCC was one of the major organizing groups in the Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965.
White SNCC volunteer and Episcopal minister, Jonathan Daniels, was murdered in Alabama protesting whites only stores.
After the murder of civil rights activist Sammy Younge Junior in 1966, the SNCC went in a more radical direction by distancing itself from moderate whites, strengthening its ties to radical and communist groups, and taking a vocal stance against the Vietnam War.
When Carmichael chaired the SNCC in 1966 and 1967, he continued to move the organization toward Marxism and Black Power by forging ties with groups such as the Black Panthers.
Under Carmichael, the SNCC supported many urban riots, referring to them as "uprisings" and "ghetto rebellions."
In December 1966, the SNCC narrowly approved a vote to expel white members from the organization.
By the late 1960s, the SNCC was heavily infiltrated by agents working for the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO).


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