Atlanta ( CNN ) -- The Rev . Howard Creecy Jr. , president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference , died early Thursday in Atlanta from what is believed to be a heart attack , spokesman Maynard Eaton said . Creecy died about 12:30 a.m. , Eaton said . An autopsy was being performed Thursday . Creecy , 57 , was elected president of the SCLC in January after Bernice King , daughter of the late Rev . Martin Luther King Jr. , declined the post , according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Creecy , pastor of Olivet Church in Fayette County , Georgia , had previously served as the interim president of the SCLC . Before joining Olivet Church , Creecy was senior pastor of St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta for 26 years , according to the Olivet Church website . He and his wife have two daughters . The SCLC , one of the nation 's most prominent civil rights groups , was founded by King and others in 1957 .
St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church , Thursday , died about 12:30 a.m. 57 in Eaton . The cause of death is believed to be a heart attack .