Forty years ago this month, ten thousand African Americans thronged to Gary, Indiana for the first National Black Political Convention. They gathered to develop a black agenda, and to influence 1972 presidential politics. One of the things on the agenda was the development of an independent black political party and to explore the notion of independent black politics.
March 10-12, 1972, an estimated 10,000 Black people converged on a small steel town in Indiana for one of the greatest gatherings in the history of Africans in America – the Gary National Black Political Convention. As I reflect on more than a half century on the frontlines of the Black Freedom Struggle, anyone who is intimately familiar with my work is aware that the Gary Black Political Convention was one of the defining moments for an emerging social/political activist from Youngstown, Ohio.
The senseless killing of young Trayvon Martin has reminded conscious Black men everywhere in this country of their tenuous existence. The “freedom” of George Zimmerman, Trayvon’s killer, reminds us of the imbalance of justice and the degree to which the “law” is slow to recognize our humanity.
By Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Streets ran red with blood. It was the worse year of racial conflict in American history. The summer of 1919 was aptly named the Red Summer. That fateful summer race riots claimed the lives of hundreds of Blacks in cities and rural areas, alike.
Habari gani. On behalf of my friend, wife and companion in all things good and beautiful, Tiamoyo; the advocates and members of our organization, Us, the African American Cultural Center, and the National Association of Kawaida Organizations; Dr. Segun Shabaka, chair of New York NAKO…
The killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has understandably sparked outrage across the nation. Considering how the Black youth was gunned down by a neighborhood watch captain as he innocently walked down a street has left people numb, bewildered and angry. It is a chilling example of the vulnerability of young Black men in this nation and the degree to which their lives are discounted in a society that has made being Black a criminal offense
By Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Trayvon Martin, 17, was visiting his father, in Sanford, Florida, from Miami. Over fifty years ago, Emmett Till, 14, was visiting his grand-father in Money, Mississippi, from Chicago. Emmett Till was abducted in the night, by Whites, tortured and killed. It was 1955. Much has changed. Too much remains the same.
Trayvon Martin is the latest young Black man left begging for his life.
Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West deserve high props for their summer poverty tour. They started on an Indian reservation, hit the inner city, and looked at poverty, in all of its manifestations. While many dismissed their high-profile tour as a political ploy, I am absolutely convinced of their sincerity. In addition, these two men […]
To talk of Harriet Tubman is to speak of one of those special persons who serve as sacred sources and cultural anchors of our expansive self-understanding and whose lives are the precious and heavy metal and material out of which history and hope are hammered. In this month of remembrance and special honor of our foremothers, Black History Month II—Women Focus, let us pay rightful hommage to her on March 10, her Day of Remembrance set aside by our shared home state of Maryland.
When I went to Bennett College for Women in 2007, I declared that I was “on fire” for the institution. I still am. And I also yield to the biblical verse that says for everything there is a season, a time for everything unto heaven. I had a season to build four buildings in four […]
On April 27th at the Schomburg Center in New York family, longtime allies/friends and the community will gather to share in the celebration of my 70th Birthday. Personally, I’m not much on birthday celebrations, so the event will be a benefit to support the work of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), the organization which I have devoted my energies building for the past decade. I view IBW as a signature/legacy initiative – the culmination of nearly a half century of advocacy and organizing on the frontlines of the Black Freedom Struggle.
Here are some quick links to NAARC’s website to help you get involved and stay informed:
• Donate
• What is NAARC?
• What is NAARC’s 10 Point Plan?
• Forums & Conferences
• NAARC News
• Reparations Advocate Sign Up
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW21) is committed to enhancing the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. and globally to achieve cultural, social, economic and political equality and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people. – Learn more here
© 2025 Institute of the Black World 21st Century.
