|
|
Black Radical Congresss: 10th Anniversary Conference Report
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. full report
Obama’s Candidacy: The Advent of Post-Racial America and the End of Black Politics?
By Linda Burnham
The Obama candidacy has provoked a torrent of observations and speculations about race in America – some grounded in reality, some approaching the realm of sheer fantasy. In the latter category are the commentaries heralding the advent of a "post-racial America" and "the end of Black politics."
Matt Bai’s August 10th piece in The New York Times, entitled "Is Obama the End of Black Politics?," is one of the more coherent versions of the genre. In it he argues that a newly emerging generation of Ivy-bred black elected officials, with Obama as their chief representative, are more interested in representing universal interests than in representing the black community; that therefore "black politics might now be disappearing into American politics in the same way that the Irish and Italian machines long ago joined the political mainstream"; and that an Obama win would likely undermine the argument for race-based measures such as affirmative action. full article
Following is a statement put out Aug. 24 by the Black Left Unity Network, which held its inaugural conference this past May 30-June 1 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The U.S. is on the verge of making history with the possible nomination of the first Black presidential candidate by one of the two major political parties. The massive Black voter turnouts for the Democratic primaries are a testament of the spontaneous political upsurge that is taking place throughout the national Black community.
There are various pro and con views about Barack Obama’s presidential platform. They all have a ring of truth. However, the massive Black support he is receiving represents the desire by Black people and a demand of our historic anti-racist struggle for self-determination to have power and a voice in shaping our own destiny as an oppressed people and as part of the wider U.S. working class who suffer from racism, sexism, homophobia and capitalist exploitation. This sentiment cannot be ignored by Black activists who are committed to building a radical mass movement that challenges and seeks to transform the U.S. political and economic system.
full statement
|
