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.
An important documentary which explores the roots and legacy of one of the worst civilian massacres in modern American history. Joining the discussion is local filmmaker Denise Ward-Brown and former alderman Terry Kennedy whose family was a survivor of the infamous massacre.
The demand for black political power has been ever constant through the various movements–Black liberation,BLACK POWER, Black Lives Matter. This year, St. Louis is poised to elect a Black mayor. In 2023, the City will also reduce the number of alder people by half.
Building a strong, radical multiracial movement will be critical in a post-trump world. What lessons can we learn from the brothers and sisters who founded the first Rainbow Coalition.
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.
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
