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With the launch of the Black Radical Congress (BRC) in 1998, a current of optimism rippled through the social justice movement. In the tradition of other black political gatherings such as the National Negro Congress, the National Black Political Convention and other more recent ones, the BRC set out on a mammoth challenge to build unity within the Black Liberation Movement (BLM) and consensus around the Freedom Agenda.
Black Radical Congresss: 10th Anniversary Conference Report
The 10th Anniversary Conference of the Black Radical Congress convened in St. Louis , MO on the Juneteenth weekend. Participants represented over a dozen cities across the country from Seattle to Washington , DC . In addition to workshops, the plenaries were organized to assess the BRC?s past and determine its future direction.
Michael Eric Dyson, radical scholar and author, opened the conference with a presentation on ?Electoral Politics in the Struggle for Black Political Power?. Marcia Dyson was unable to participate because of a family emergency. Michael Dyson talked about the need to support the candidacy of Barack Obama for presidency and still hold him accountable. Dyson is an Obama surrogate but said he was compelled to respond to the Father?s Day speech by Obama critical of black fathers. Dyson wrote a rebuttal that was published in Time Magazine.
Workshops were AFRICOM; Black People and the Iraq War/Occupation; In Search of a Black Gay Agenda; Radicalizing the Hip Hop Political Movement; African Americans, Immigration and Race; Gettin' the Vote Out: The Radical Approach; Black Liberation and Student Organizing; US Social Forum - A Movement Building Process; Police Violence in Our Communities: Resistance and Reform; and Black Workers at a Time of War, Elections and Economic Crisis. Action steps from the workshop will be available soon on the BRC website.
Two plenaries were held at the 10th anniversary conference. One plenary included an assessment of the BRC and the broader movement along with a report from the recent Black Left Unity meeting. The other plenary focused on a discussion paper on the BRC?s structure and direction. The body unanimously adopted the proposal. The essence of the proposal allowed for an expansion of the Coordinating Committee (CC) to national members and representatives from black organizations. The CC?s responsibilities were refined as was the programmatic components of the BRC. The decision took into consideration the BRC?s current capacity and the state of the movement so that a more realistic approach was embraced.
There were two resolutions that received conference support. There were to denounce all forms of genocidal violence in the Sudan and to oppose the violence against the opposition in Zimbabwe; and to challenge any African-American spokesperson who articulates an anti-immigration stance.
The BRC is now transitioning its leadership and redesigning the website. The workshop action steps and the full language of the resolutions will be posted there. Look for a 10th anniversary newsletter in the near future.
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