Black Radical Congress

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The Black Radical Congress or BRC is an organization founded in 1998 in Chicago. It is a grassroots network of individuals and organizations of African descent focused on advocating for broad progressive social justice, racial justice and economic justice goals within the United States.

1 History
2 Organization
3 Principles
- 3.1 Race and Racial Justice
- 3.2 Radical Politics
4 Endorsers
5 External links
- 5.1 Publications
6 References

[edit] 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.^[3] The National Council of the BRC adopted a mission statement on 26 September 1999 in East St. Louis, Illinois. The opening paragraph 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.^{[citation needed]}^[6]

[edit] Organization

The BRC has both individual and organizational memberships. It is headed by a National Congress.^{[citation needed]}

Each year, the BRC chooses a different "theme" to focus its work on; past themes have included anti-militarism and the prison-industrial complex.^[7]

The BRC has at least two caucuses, subgroups within the organization, the labor and working class caucus and the Pat Parker Queer Caucus.^[8]

The BRC has local chapters in Washington, D.C.; the San Francisco Bay Area; Sacramento, California; Minneapolis; St. Louis; New York City; Raleigh, North Carolina; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.^[9]

[edit] Principles

[edit] Race and Racial Justice

The BRC states "Black is not necessarily a color or hue, but encompasses all peoples of African decent."^[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.

[edit] 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."^[11]

The BRC has many ties to the Communist Party, USA, though it does not explicitly identify itself as communist, socialist or marxist.