Black Delegation

The Black Delegation

Black People Are Owed Actual, Distinct, Permanent Political Power As A Class!

For 400 years, the Black experience with the European and American worlds has been marked by colonization, kidnapping, forced labor, chattel slavery, apartheid, murder, mass terror campaigns, indoctrination, experimentation, racist abuse, eugenics, and more recently, false (or at best broken) promises of representation, autonomy, equality. In short, the Black experience with white people has been the experience of White Supremacy culture.

Despite the efforts of countless black leaders, abolitionists, civil rights struggles, many of which have criminally been erased from our common historical narrative, the promise of equality has gone unfulfilled by this system and by those that perpetuate white supremacy culture. Slavery is still permitted as punishment for “a crime”. Redlining and other systemically racist institutions, including the police, are still a rampant part of our society. Anti-Black racism is baked into our social relations as much as they are our economic and political relations.

Despite numerous national political parties, all largely white, claiming to represent the interests of black people, actual dignified class representation on Black issues exists only in South Africa, and even it is subject to the pressures of capitalism and imperialism, like all other nations.

We know from experience that no permanent progress is possible inside this system. We also know that no single oppressed social group in the diaspora, in the imperial core, has the material strength to gain its liberation, without forming working alliances with other local marginalized and oppressed classes.

It’s Time For A New Way

The Black Delegation of the Worker-Tenant Councils is a co-equal delegation, meaning that no matter how many members it contains, the voting results of the delegation equate to one full delegation vote in the full council.

The Black Delegation is made up of working class members of the entire local Black community, including unemployed, houseless, and disabled black community members. All local Black members are voting members of this delegation, in a structure where only the membership votes, while the elected leaders do not.

Every Black Delegation, as every delegation, will elect its own leadership to guide discussion. Delegation leadership also functions as the primary point of contact for delegation matters.

On all Council issues and topics that directly relate to the well-being or interests of the Black community as a whole or as a majority of affected persons, leaders of the Black Delegation will open, lead, and close these topics, primarily systemic and interpersonal racism, justice, and policing. In addition, all committees created by the council related to these topics are to be chaired by a member of this delegation.