Southern Conference for Human Welfare
The Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) was established in 1938 by a coalition of southern liberals responding to a critical report on the region's economic conditions, known as the Mellett Report. This report highlighted the challenges facing the South, prompting the organization to advocate for substantial reforms, particularly concerning racial discrimination, which it viewed as an economic and political issue. The SCHW's initiatives included promoting strong labor unions, opposing conservative political dominance, and advocating for the abolition of discriminatory laws like the poll tax. The organization gained momentum after World War II, amassing over ten thousand members and conducting lobbying efforts and conferences throughout the South.
An offshoot, the Southern Conference Education Fund, focused on civil rights for Black southerners. However, the SCHW's influence waned after a challenging attempt to support Henry Wallace's Progressive Party in 1948, which led to scrutiny during the early Cold War era. Despite the House Committee on Un-American Activities finding no evidence of communist ties, the organization faced accusations of disloyalty, ultimately leading to its suspension in November 1948. The SCHW played a pivotal role in early civil rights advocacy and labor movements in the South, reflecting a significant, albeit brief, chapter in the region's social and political history.
Southern Conference for Human Welfare
A small group of southern liberals founded the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) in 1938 in response to the Report on Economic Conditions of the South (1938), a devastating critique of the region’s prospects and leadership. The report was commonly known as the Mellett Report after Lowell Mellett, director of the National Emergency Council, a group of educators, businesspeople, bankers, farmers, and others from the South who prepared the report in response to a request by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The president was trying to garner southern support for his second New Deal and needed to demonstrate an understanding of the area’s problems. The SCHW remained a small group until the end of World War II when it spearheaded a widespread reform movement. The SCHW viewed race discrimination as an economic and political problem rather than a social one. Its members advocated strong labor unions, an end to rule by Bourbons (extremely conservative southerners), and the abolition of the poll tax and other disfranchisement laws. By the end of 1946, it had more than ten thousand members. Paid workers lobbied the US Congress and conducted conferences throughout the South. An offshoot, the Southern Conference Education Fund, continued to work for civil rights for Black southerners.
The SCHW met its demise in a disastrous attempt to mount a third-party presidential campaign in 1948. Backing Henry Wallace’s Progressive Party, the SCHW staged several integrated tours through southern cities. However, as the Cold War heated up, the SCHW became suspect. Although the House Committee on Un-American Activities failed to uncover a single communist in the organization, it tainted the organization with charges of disloyalty. In November 1948, the SCHW’s board of representatives voted to suspend operations.
Bibliography
Egerton, John. Speak Now against the Day: The Generation before the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Knopf, 1994.
Krueger, Thomas A. And Promises to Keep: The Southern Conference for Human Welfare, 1938–1948. Vanderbilt UP, 1967.
McWhorter, Diane. Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution. Simon, 2013.
Woodham, Rebecca. "Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW)." Encyclopedia of Alabama, 13 July 2023, encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/southern-conference-for-human-welfare-schw/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.