Danville Christian Progressive Association

Reverend Lawrence Campbell, Reverend Alexander Dunlap, and Reverend Lendell W. Chase formed the Danville Christian Progressive Association in 1960 during the sit-ins to open Danville's restaurants and stores to black patrons. In August 1962 the DCPA filed an anti-bias lawsuit against the city of Danville and a number of organizations and businesses. In 1963 the DCPA helped lead and organize protests and demonstrations against racial bias in employment that culminated in a violent confrontation with police and long courtroom litigation. The DCPA emphasized direct action and considered the Danville NAACP branch, led by Reverend Doyle Thomas, too conservative and slow-paced in the civil rights struggle. DCPA leaders allied with Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference and invited the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee to help organize non-violent demonstrations in June 1963.