Emory University is making the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's archive available to researchers and the public.

The archives opened Tuesday at Emory's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

The collection of 918 boxes covers the SCLC's activities and business from 1968 to 2007. It includes administrative files with correspondence, reports, memos, notebooks and meeting minutes, as well as photographs, fliers, and audio and video recordings.

Emory purchased the records in 2008.

The civil rights organization was founded in Atlanta in 1957 by a group of leaders from across the Southeast, including Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy and Joseph E. Lowery, each of whom also served as president.

An exhibition based on the materials is tentatively scheduled for spring 2013.

Tags: Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC, Emory University, archive