Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that the only way to end segregation and racism was through nonviolent passive resistance. The Montgomery bus boycott only reaffirmed that nonviolent methods of protest could be successful. After seeing the progress that resulted from the Montgomery bus boycotts, Dr. King and other African American ministers and civil rights activists established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The goal of the SCLC was to eliminate segregation and encourage African Americans to register to vote.