Black Radical Congress Press Release

National Organizing Conference, 23-25 June, 2000, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

For More Information Contact:
Charles Brown
313-224-3480 (phone)
313-438-3114 (voicemail)
charlesb@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us (email)

Forty-one shots

This has become a symbol of the conditions and status of Black people in the U.S. It will forever be etched in our minds. It is an outrageous, painful and sickening illustration that Black people have no rights that whites are bound to respect. It applied to Dred Scott in 1857, Emmett Till in 1955 and Amadou Diallo in 1999. It applies to all of us today.

Police shootings, racial profiling, attacks on Affirmative Action and increasing economic insecurity are the problems of the day for the Black masses. Impoverished Black families on welfare are treated like indentured slaves through Workfare; prison labor is exploited for the benefit of private corporations in a modern form of slavery; Living Wage jobs are harder to find as Black youth are herded into prisons instead of colleges and universities; And all of this is taking place while the country continues to experience record breaking economic growth and prosperity, but only for a few greedy capitalists.

On Juneteenth 1998, recognizing that the problem of the Color Line had not been resolved but had become worse, 2,000 people gathered in Chicago for the Black Radical Congress (BRC). We came together to forge a radical agenda for the 21st Century. We met with the understanding that the Black Liberation Movement has many traditions and ideological points of view. The Principles of Unity that brought us to Chicago acknowledges those differences but pledged us to unite to rebuild a powerful liberation struggle. We understood that our lives depend on it.

The Congress identified the many problems faced by the Black masses; we heard from the fighters and resisters in our communities; we resolved to develop a living Freedom Agenda; and we identified important campaigns to challenge white supremacy and capitalist exploitation.

On the battlefront since the congress we have participated in the fight to save Mumia Abu Jamal’s life; we mobilized to save the life of Tabitha Walrond; and we continue to organize against the extradition of Assata Shakur. In our various cities we have started the work of building Organizing Committees and work on campaigns for a Living Wage and quality Public Education. We have joined the struggle for Reparations and have circulated the Freedom Agenda for discussion and debate by the Black masses.

The BRC is young and we are proud of what we have done. But it’s not enough and we need to do better. This year we will meet to further develop our work and our organization. The June 2000 BRC National Organizing Conference will identify a unifying campaign and provide us with an opportunity to train old and new activists on how to take up the coming fights. Join us to help move the BRC forward!

What will the Conference do?

• Consolidate the BRC as a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to building a movement for Freedom and Justice for Blacks in North America.
• Prepare the groundwork for the 2nd Congress of the BRC in June 2001. The Organizing conference needs the participation of all Black people who want to resist the growing threat of a police state.

Detroit is the place of many historical and contemporary struggles of the Black masses. From the early struggles of Black workers in the auto industry to the struggle for Human Rights that seeks to regain control of our lives from the state and private interests, Detroit represents some of our best traditions of fighting back. The founding of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and the Republic of New Afrika (RNA), along with many other organizations has made Detroit a critical center of the Black Liberation Movement. We will continue that tradition in June.

If it wasn’t clear before, there is no doubt now that...

We Are All Amadou!

Fight the Police State and White Supremacy!
Build the BRC!
Forward in our Freedom Struggle!