42nd Anniversary Celebration
Join us for our 42nd Anniversary Celebration “Defining a New Black Political Agenda” 2.26.22
January 25, 2022
Support the Organization for Black Struggle
black people on the move!
About OBS
The Organization for Black Struggle (OBS) was founded in 1980. A group of veteran activists, students, union organizers and community members in St. Louis were seeking to address the needs and issues of the Black working-class. There was a vacuum of Black radical leadership that could boldly speak and act, unencumbered by government or corporate structures. In retrospect, this was a challenging period.
The FBI’s CounterIntelligence Program, known as COINTELPRO, wreaked havoc on the leaders and organizations of the Black Liberation Movement. By 1980 the right was beginning to consolidate its power politically, with a conservative in the White House for the next 12 years. The country was struggling to get out of the economic recession. It was out of this abyss that OBS was born.
Join OBS in the fight for social justice.
Racial Justice
Racial Justice
Our people deserve court systems that are just and free of political corruption. We are determined to end police violence. We will fight for the abolition of the prison industrial complex and the death penalty. We will fight for a society in which every person and every community is liberated from state repression and violence. This means building a humane system rooted in restorative justice and with a keen understanding of historic trauma that continues to shape our psyche and relationships.
Women's Rights
Women's Rights
OBS upholds Black, radical feminism and recognizes the intersectionality of race, class and gender. We fight against all forms of patriarchy, such as sexism and misogyny, that stifles the full human rights of women in all areas of personal, social, economic and political life. We respect the spectrum of gender and sexual identities.
Black Workers Rights
Black Workers Rights
We demand a re-structuring of the capitalist economy to ensure human needs are met over the accumulation of corporate super-profits. We seek full employment at livable wages. We support the right of workers to organize themselves in public and private sectors. Workers deserve a safe and healthy work environment.
Black Political Power
Black Political Power
We believe in Black self-determination in all areas of society. We fight for a political system that results in a real democracy where Black people and all marginalized people can effectively exercise full political power and govern. We demand the end to voter repression and disenfranchisement.
Youth Empowerment
Youth Empowerment
We believe our children are truly our future. The quality of their lives is based upon quality education, health care, housing, recreation and nutrition. We fight for the end to the dehumanization and criminalization of our children and youth. We seek to build communities that are child-centered and that support families in a holistic way.
Covid-19
COVID-19
COVID-19 is a modern-day pandemic that is changing the lives and futures of the world's inhabitants. People of color in the U.S., particular those of African descent, have been negatively and disproportionately impacted by the virus because of historic racial health disparities. OBS has played a leading role in our community to educate ourselves and direct people to the services they need.
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What's going on:
Project Haki
Project Haki is a project of the Organization for Black Struggle. Haki means justice. It was put in place to address the violence in the 22nd ward that impacts the health and safety of families and the neighborhoods. Our goal is to bring together those who are committed to working in a positive and productive way to benefit the ward.
Upcoming events
St. Louis Mayoral Candidates Forum with Tishaura Jones
The St. Louis Community Justice Coalition (CJC) is hosting its second mayoral forum for the two candidates who received the votes necessary to advance to the April 6 General Election.
March 17, 2021
How to be an Activist (Online Workshop)
Honoring history, finding your fight, organizing community, staying engaged,
Monday, February 22, 2021 – 6 – 7:30PM
February 20, 2021
Get Updates from OBS
Recent news & Views
Towards the Dismantling of the Prison Industrial Complex and the
Re-imagining Alternatives that Deliver Real Justice
OBS has devoted much of its organizational time and resources to this pillar of our foundational work. We have seen progress but it is not fast enough nor expansive enough. Greater, more strategic efforts must be waged against a system that is eating our communities alive.
Black Workers Matter! Workers Unite!
For the past six years, OBS has participated in the National Black Worker Center’s Black Labor Day. This year’s theme was “Show Me the Money!” We also endorsed its Black Workers Bill of Rights because Black workers matter.
Organization for Black Struggle
P.O. Box 5277
St. Louis, MO 63115
(314) 367-5959 | contactus@obs-stl.org
