By ERRIN HAINES and DORIE TURNER
Associated Press Writers
ATLANTA – The bitter infighting that led to a legal battle among board members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference began after a breakdown of communication between longtime colleagues who once worked together for civil rights, witnesses told a judge Thursday.
Rev. Wilburt Shanklin – the SCLC’s parliamentarian and a defendant in the case – testified he wanted a gag order placed on the board of directors and staff after communications began to deteriorate and became chaotic.
“That was the only way I knew to get a handle on things,” Shanklin said.