The National Black Political Convention , or the Gary Convention , was held on March 10?12, 1972 in Gary , Indiana . ^{[1] [2]} The convention gathered around ten thousand African-Americans to discuss and advocate for black communities that undergo significant economic and social crisis. ^[3] Part of their goal was to raise the number of black politicians elected to office, increase representation, and create an agenda for fundamental change. ^[4] The convention also issued the Gary Declaration , which stated that the American political system was failing black Americans and that the only way to address this problem was to transition to independent black politics. ^{[5] [6]} Notable participants in the convention included Gary mayor Richard Hatcher , civil rights activist Jesse Jackson , and House Representative Charles C. Diggs Jr. ^[7] Diggs Jr., alongside Richard Hatcher , were the two keynote speakers at the National Black Political Convention.

Filmmaker William Greaves ' 1972 documentary Nationtime , narrated by Sidney Poitier , covers the National Black Political Convention. An 80-minute restored version was released in 2020 with funding from Jane Fonda and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association . ^[8]

References [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ]

• Daniels, Ron (July?August 1984). "The National Black Political Assembly: Building Independent Black Politics In the 1980s". The Black Scholar . 15 (4): 34?44. doi : 10.1080/00064246.1984.11658573 .
• Moore, Leonard N. (2018). The Defeat of Black Power: Civil Rights and the National Black Political Convention of 1972 . Louisiana State University Press. ISBN   978-0-8071-6904-9 .
• Smith, Robert Charles (1996). "The National Black Political Convention, 1972?84" . We Have No Leaders: African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era . SUNY Press. pp. 29?85. ISBN   978-0-7914-3135-1 .

External links [ edit ]

• "Tired of Going to Funerals:" The 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary ? The Indiana History Blog, Indiana Historical Bureau
• Gary Declaration ? BlackPast.org

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