It’s So Beautiful to be Black

PHILIP A. McCOMBS

“black is beautiful,” said a sign in the Washington office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, “and it’s SO BEAUTIFUL TO BE BLACK.” A wide-eyed girlish face peered from under the words. It was one of many wall posters. Adjacent was a “Freedom Flag.” The imprint of a black hand covered a white circle on a red field. An efficient clerk explained the symbolism and distributed leaflets. Other women enlisted volunteers. The office was hot. The roar of street life intruded from outside. Outside was Shaw, a 145-block section crammed with 140,000 people. The White House was nineteen blocks away. Washington’s Negro community was busily preparing for Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign, which was to begin next week.

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Philip A. McCombs

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Martin Luther King Jr

PHILIP A. McCOMBS

“black is beautiful,” said a sign in the Washington office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, “and it’s SO BEAUTIFUL TO BE BLACK.” A wide-eyed girlish face peered from under the words. It was one of many wall posters. Adjacent was a “Freedom Flag.” The imprint of a black hand covered a white circle on a red field. An efficient clerk explained the symbolism and distributed leaflets. Other women enlisted volunteers. The office was hot. The roar of street life intruded from outside. Outside was Shaw, a 145-block section crammed with 140,000 people. The White House was nineteen blocks away. Washington’s Negro community was busily preparing for Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign, which was to begin next week.