had 3,000 members. By conducting sit-ins in 1960 at the Trailways bus terminal, Walker and PIA members gained agreement by the president of the Bus Terminal Restaurants to desegregate lunch counters in Petersburg and several other Virginia cities. This was achieved the year before the Freedom Riders arrived in 1961. Through these years Walker became increasingly close to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement and later served as his chief of staff. In 1957 Walker helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1958 King chose Walker for the board of SCLC. Walker spent the next two years building the organization in Virginia by capitalizing on his network of relationships with clergy throughout the state from his activities with NAACP and CORE. He also continued demonstrations and actions intended to highlight, challenge and end segregation. Atlanta, Georgia At King's invitation, Walker moved to Atlanta as the SCLC's first full-time executive director. During his leadership of 1960–1964, he brought the organization to "national power" in its efforts to bring about an end to legal segregation of African Americans. A strong manager, Walker (assisted by Dorothy Cotton and James Wood brought from the PIA) improved administration and fundraising, and coordinated the staff's far-ranging activities. Walker preached "dazzling sermons" to support the student sit-ins that sparked the second phase of civil rights organizing after 1960. He was also the chief strategist and tactician for "Project C", the detailed plan for confrontation with local police and city officials that was the heart of the first phase of the Birmingham Campaign in 1963. Assisted by local movement secretary Lola Hendricks, Walker meticulously researched protest targets, timed the walking distance from the 16th Street Baptist Church (the campaign's headquarters) to the downtown area; surveyed the segregated lunch counters of department stores; and listed federal buildings as secondary targets should police block the protesters' entrance into primary targets such as stores, libraries, and all-white churches. He ensured the campaign would receive national attention and build support for the cause. The events captured important national media attention and coverage, as Walker discussed in detail when interviewed by Robert Penn Warren for the book Who Speaks for the Negro?. This was critical for gaining national support among American citizens and the Kennedy administration for the movement and its goals. Walker also helped organize and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. In 1964 and