Originally founded as the Commission on Interracial Cooperation in 1919, a series of meetings of black and white leaders led to the formation of the newly formed Southern Regional Council in 1944. Rufus E. Clement, Ralph McGill, Arthur J. Moore, Charles S. Johnson, and Howard W. Odum were among those who founded the new organization.

The original charter of the SRC stated that its purpose was for “the improvement of economic, civic and racial conditions in the South, in the endeavor to promote a greater unity in the South in all efforts towards regional and racial development; to attain through research and action programs the ideals and practices of equal opportunity for all peoples in the region; to reduce race tension, the basis of racial tension, racial misunderstanding, and racial distrust; to develop and integrate leadership in the South on new levels of regional development and fellowship; and to cooperate with local, state, and regional agencies on all levels in the attainment of the desired objectives.”

Throughout its history, the SRC fought segregation, helped form human relations councils in several states, and served as an information resource of civil rights activities, as well as political, social, and economic conditions in the South.