Screening of the First Rainbow Coalition’
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.
December 3, 2020
Who we are
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.
Our Work
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.
Join OBS in the fight for social justice.
become a member today
- You will be joining an organization with over four decades on the battlefront for justice and racial equality.
- You will be part of an organization that has a respected history locally and nationally.
- You will work with others committed to making transformative change for our community.
Get the book
In the wake of Mike Brown’s brutal death by police, Jamala Rogers, an award winning columnist and author of The Best of the Way I See It was compelled to frame the national dialogue of Ferguson within the context of the American experience. Ferguson Is America: Roots of Rebellion chronicles the long-standing fight for racial justice and human rights in the region, affirming why black lives have always mattered. Through her vivid writing, Jamala shares her organizing experiences and poignant insights into the decades of unjust inequalities and institutional racism in Ferguson and the surrounding municipalities. She lays the conditions leading up the uprising at the feet of the American reality of racial discrimination and economic injustices.
Upcoming events
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CommUNITY Health & Wellness Day
Organization for Black Struggle, Youth Council for Positive Development & Partners presents a day to unite us. – Sat. October 3, 2020 11 am-2 pm Dr. Martin Luther King & Hodiamont
September 29, 2020
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Recent news & Views
The Organization for Black Struggle (OBS)Demands Justice for the St. Louis Justice Center Residents Subjected to Inhumane Conditions
The insurrection that occurred on Saturday, February 6 at the St. Louis Justice Center in response to COVID-19 has been boiling for almost a year. The prolonged neglect by city officials starting with Mayor Lyda Krewson and Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards is unconscionable and unacceptable.
Webinar on Building Strong, Black Organizations
Register here. In prep for this robust discussion, we recommend reading the summation of the Women of Color Resource Center and the 16 Lessons from the Black Radical