The passage most clearly suggests that which one of the following is true of the group of ministers who led the Downs...

Emil-Kunkin on October 14, 2023

I think the second half of the second paragraph (about line 30 on) tells us that the ministers actually had been involved in civil rights by running for office and representing the interests of their predominantly Black congregations. Those interests surely would have included fighting for civil rights. The difference between this sort of civil rights advocacy and what they started doing in the downstate campaign is that previously they had worked for civil rights through official, established channels. The downstate campaign went beyond those established means.