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Summary of the Program and Aims of the ABB [1920] 1

Summary of the Program and Aimsof the African Blood Brotherhood

(Formulated by 1920 Convention)

1

Leaflet n the Comintern Archive, RGASPI, f. 1515, op. 1, d. 37, ll. 13-14.

1) A Liberated Race.2) Absolute Race Equality Political, Eco-

nomic, Social.3) The Fostering of Racial Self-Respect.4) Organized and Uncompromising Opposition

to the Ku Klux Klan.

5) A United Negro Front.6) Industrial Development.7) Higher Wages for Negro Labor, Shorter

Hours, and Better Living Conditions.8) Education.9) Cooperation with the other Darker Peoples

and with the Class-Conscious White Workers.

1) A Liberated Race in the United States,

Africa, and elsewhere. Liberated not merely from alienpolitical rule, but also from the crushing weight ofexploitation, which keeps the many in degrading pov-erty that the few may wallow in stolen wealth. TheNegroes in the United States both native and for-eign born are destined to play a vital part in a pow-erful world movement for Negro liberation. Just as theNegro in the United States can never hope to win genu-ine equality with his white neighbors under the sys-tem of exploitation, so, too, a free Africa is impossibleuntil commercial exploitation is abolished. The ABB

proposes (1) to develop and organize the political andeconomic strength of the Negro in the North for thepurpose of eliminating peonage, disfranchisement, etc.,in the South and raising the status of the Negro inthat section of the country, and (2) to organize the

national strength of the entire Negro group in Americafor the purpose of extending moral and financial aidand, where necessary, leadership to our blood-broth-ers on the continent of Africa and in Haiti and theWest Indies in their struggle against white capitalistexploitation.

2) Absolute Race Equality. In this question areinextricably bound the issues of Political Equality, So-cial Equality, and Economic Equality. Let one be de-nied and the whole principle of racial equality is de-nied.

3) The Fostering of Racial Self-Respectby thedissemination of the true facts concerning the Negroscontributions to modern civilization and the predomi-

nant party played in the ancient world by the Africanpeoples.

4) Organized and Uncompromising Opposi-tion to the Ku Klux Klan and all other movementsor tendencies inimical to the true interests of the Ne-gro masses. To effectively oppose the bigotry and preju-dice of the Ku Klux Klan we must (a) organize theNegro masses; (b) create a strong Negro Federationout of the existing organizations that we may presenta United Front; and (c) for the purpose of fighting the

Klan ally ourselves with all groups opposed to its vi-cious activities, viz: the workers, particularly the Jew-ish workers and the Catholic workers, at whom, withthe Negro, the Klans activities are especially directed.As, for the purpose of throwing off our oppression,

- According to Mark Solomon, a specialist in early 20th Century Black American radicalism, There is no evidence that the ABBactually held a convention in 1920. At that point, it still characterized itself as a secret organization. If it did actually convene, the dateremains unrecorded, but the formulation of the program most likely was in May or June 1920 and was designed for circulation atMarcus Garveys UNIA convention that was to be held in August of that year. (Correspondence with Editor, April 2007.)

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Summary of the Program and Aims of the ABB [1920]2

the enemies of the Imperialist system are our naturalallies by virtue of being in the same camp and op-posed to the same enemy, so the enemies of the Klanare our friends in that they fight the foe we fight. TheNegro masses must get out of their minds the stupididea that it is necessary for two groups to love each

other before they can enter into an alliance againsttheir common enemy. Not love or hatred, but IDEN-TITY OF INTERESTS AT THE MOMENT, dic-tates the tactics of practical people.

5) A United Negro Front with which to op-pose the Ku Klux Klan and all other organizations andtendencies antagonistic to the Negro. This can be doneonly by bringing all Negro organizations into a Fed-eration with a program to which any serious and in-telligent Negro organization could subscribe. Theiridentity would not be lost. Their autonomy practi-cally unimpaired. And the race organized and effec-tive for the first time in its history.

6) Industrial Developmentalong genuine co-operative lines whereby the benefits will be equallydistributed among the masses participating, and notappropriated by a few big stockholders and dishonestand inefficient officials drawing exorbitant salaries. TheABB is sternly opposed to the foisting of individual

and corporation enterprises upon mass movements forthe reason that (a) such procedure is manifestly dis-honest and misleading. Enterprises supported by massmovements should be of such a nature as to equallybenefit everyone in the movement, not merely a hand-ful of officials; (b) the ABB does not consider any com-mercial enterprise good enough to base the sacred Lib-eration Movement upon the mere chances of successor failure. No movement so based can long survive thecollapse of its commercial enterprises. We believe infostering and encouraging cooperative enterprises that

will benefit the many rather than the few, but withoutbasing the movement upon them.

7) Higher Wages for Negro Labor, ShorterHours, and Better Living Conditions. To gain for

Negro Labor the full reward of its toil and to preventexploitation either on the job or at the source of sup-plies we must encourage industrial unionism amongour people and at the same time fight to break downthe prejudice in the unions which is stimulated andencouraged by the employers. This prejudice is already

meeting the attack of the radical and progressive ele-ment among white union men and must eventuallygive way before the united onslaught of Black andWhite Workers. Wherever it is found impossible toenter the existing labor unions, independent unionsshould be formed, that Negro labor be enabled to pro-tect its interests.

8) Education. That Knowledge is Power wasnever more true than today when on every hand it isbeing demonstrated that races or groups advance byvirtue of their acquirement of knowledge or lag be-hind because of their failure to overcome ignorance.The ABB proposes to send lecturers throughoutAmerica, establish forums, newspapers, etc., etc.

9) Cooperation with Other Darker Races andwith the Class-Conscious White Workers. For thepurpose of waging an effective struggle and weaken-ing our enemies wherever possible, we must (a) estab-lish fellowship and coordination of action within the

darker masses and (b) between these masses and thetruly class-conscious White Workers who seek the abo-lition of human exploitation.

The ABB submits the above summary of its pro-gram and aims, confident that it will receive the ear-nest attention of the race and that it will earn theiractive support.

For Further Information address:

The African Blood Brotherhood2299 Seventh Avenue,

New York City,USA.

Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2007. Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

http://www.marxisthistory.org

Edited by Tim Davenport.