Register for BAP’s next webinar here.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1972 National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana. At the close of the convention, participants issued the Gary Declaration: Black Politics at the Crossroads. In it, they declared that "if we come to Gary out of the realities of the Black communities of this land, then the only real choice for us is whether or not we will live by the truth we know, whether we will move to organize independently, move to struggle for fundamental transformation, for the creation of new directions...Social transformation or social destruction, those are our only real choices." 50 years later, the primary question of the 1972 convention is still live: "Will we believe the truth that history presses into our face -- or will we, too, try to hide?" This webinar will discuss why that question is still relevant. Panelists will discuss how the Gary Declaration speaks to the possibilities and challenges of developing an agenda for African liberation, with a focus on the context out of which the convention arose, the internal contradictions within the convention, and lessons and resonances for today.

Panelists:
Jaqueline Luqman
Ajamu Baraka
Dr. Sundiata Cha-Jua
Zahir Touré of Community Movement Builders
Njera Keith and Kristina Brown of 400+1

Register here.

Banner photo: Participants at the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. (AP Photo)