Black Radical Congress
 | |
| Formation | 1998 |
|---|---|
Region | United States |
The Black Radical Congress (BRC) is an organization founded in 1998 in
History
At the organizing congress in Chicago in June 1998, 2,000 people participated in creating the organization.[1] However, their first mission predates the organizing congress, having been publicly endorsed and published by a number of high-profile black scholars and activists on 16 March 1998.[2]
On 17 April 1999, the BRC ratified a "freedom agenda" listing 15 objectives dealing with racial and economic justice in the United States.
The purpose of the Black Radical Congress (BRC) is to promote dialogue among African American activists and scholars on the left; to discuss critical issues on the national and international scene that pertain to the Black community; to explore new strategies and directions for progressive political, social and cultural movements; and to renew the Black radical movement through increased unified action.[4]
The complete mission statement [1] discusses approaches to radical democratic methods involving conferences, forums and publications. "Principles of unity" were also adopted, stating that the BRC was established as a "center without walls" focusing on "transformative politics that focuses on the conditions of Black working and poor people."[5]
A national organizing conference was convened in Detroit in 2000, and other conferences have taken place in subsequent years. [6]
Organization
The BRC has both individual and organizational memberships. It is headed by a National Congress.[citation needed][7]
Each year, the BRC chooses a different "theme" to focus its work on; past themes have included
The BRC has at least two caucuses, subgroups within the organization, the labor and
The BRC has local chapters in Washington, D.C.; the
Principles
Race and racial justice
The BRC states: "Black is not necessarily a color or hue, but encompasses all peoples of African descent."[10] Their work is focused on racial justice as well as broader social and economic justice as it intersects with the politics of race and racial oppression.
Radical politics
"Radical means getting to the root causes of society's injustices and working for root-level, fundamental change. Radicalism is an honored tradition in Black political history."[10]
The BRC has many ties to the
Endorsers
A number of high-profile black scholars and activists endorsed the creation of the BRC on 16 March 1998:[11]
- Marlene Archer (National Co-chair, National Conference of Black Lawyers)
- Communist Party, USA)
- Amiri Baraka (Unity & Struggle newspaper)
- Communist Party, USA)
- University of California at Santa Cruz)
- Johanna Fernandez (International Socialist Organization)
- Bill Fletcher, Jr. (Labor activist and writer, Washington, D.C., Democratic Socialists of America)
- Lewis Gordon (Temple University)
- Robin D. G. Kelley (University of Southern California)
- Marian Kramer (National Welfare Rights Union)
- Julianne Malveaux
- Manning Marable
- Barbara Ransby, African American Women in Defense of Ourselves (1991 New York Times Ad), writer and historian
- Sonia Sanchez (poet)
- Communist Party, USA)
- Yicki Smith (Feminist Action Network)
- Communist Party, USA)
- Cornel West (Democratic Socialists of America)
See also
External links
Publications
- "From Conference to Organization: The Challenges of Building the Black Radical Congress", by Jamala Rogers
- "Global Apartheid and America's New Racial Domain", by Manning Marable
- "Rosa Parks: A Woman of Substance", by Eric Foner, discussing the life and death of Rosa Parks
- "The Left and the Millions More Movement", by Amiri Baraka
- "We Charge Genocide", by Jamala Rogers, discussing Hurricane Katrina
- "The terrorist named Hurricane Katrina", by Bill Fletcher, Jr., discussing Hurricane Katrina
- "Whither the Struggle Against Racism", by Rose Brewer, discussing the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2005
- "Contemporary Police Brutality and Misconduct" press release, undated
- "We Must Succeed!! The Black Radical Congress Campaign" press release, undated
- "African Leaders Hide Political Woes Behind Homophobia", press release, 25 April 2001
- "Statement on the Giuliani "Decency" Panel", press release, 12 April 2001
- "Statement on the Post-Election Crisis by the National Coordinating Committee of the BRC", press release, 1 December 2000
- "The Black Radical Congress Condemns the Acquittal of Four Police Officers in the Murder of Amadou Diallo", press release, 28 February 2000
References
- ^ a b "Black Radical Congress", Columbia University social justice wiki, accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ "Black Radical Congress Mission", accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ "Freedom Agenda Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ "Mission Statement of the Black Radical Congress (BRC) Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine", accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ "Principles of Unity Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ Rogers, Jamala. “From Conference to Organization: The Challenges of Building the Black Radical Congress.” The Black Scholar, vol. 35, no. 1, 2005, pp. 27. www.jstor.org/stable/41069115.
- ^ Lumpkins, C.L. (2009). Finkelman, P (ed.). Black radical congress. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 242.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Email Lists Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", accessed 2 January 2007; "A Statement by the Pat Parker Queer Caucus of the Black Radical Congress Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", dated 19 June 2005, accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ "Local Organizing Committees Archived December 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ a b "Forging a Black Liberation Agenda for the 21st Century Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", accessed 2 January 2007
- ^ "Black Radical Congress Mission," accessed 2 January 2007
