Points of Unity

We value a systematic analysis of power that recognizes that the most serious danger to Black and other oppressed communities is not individual acts of hatred which are the symptoms of interconnected systems that allow, reward, and institutionalize those behaviors and further creates laws and customs that oppress groups of people.

We believe in building an independent grassroots base of people directly impacted by an issue at the local level that can engage in collective action to win immediate material gains for the people.  At the same time, we recognize that in order to carry out the fundamental changes that need to happen in our society, we must build our local movement in coalition with others from across the country and world, as well as those fighting battles on different fronts.

We believe that the only way to tear down the oppressive systems we live under, which work to strip us of our self-determination and humanity, is for people to organize themselves and act collectively to improve their conditions while ultimately gaining power. Struggles against white supremacy and capitalism should and must be led by those most directly affected; they have the most to gain and the greatest interest in completely dismantling these systems.

We believe in embracing a diversity of tactics, including direct action and civil disobedience, in order to resist in a variety of forms. Under specific material conditions, tactics such as petitioning, lobbying, and voting can win gains for the people, but these forms of struggle are never in themselves capable of creating the radical changes that are necessary. Furthermore, they are only effective in meeting their goals when used as a tactic in a larger strategy that challenges unjust power relations.

We believe in the self-determination of Black people and other marginalized communities. We believe that nothing about us without us is for us, and therefore advocate that our communities seek out opportunities to build a city that values direct participatory democracy.

We believe that it is imperative to show solidarity to other organizations doing progressive movement building work. This is important to us because we know that all oppression is connected, and none of us can live up to our fullest potential until all of us are free.

CCJ is building a movement led by Black people with solidarity from White anti-racists and other allies. We believe our city, state, and country needs more John Browns and Anne Bradens! We will educate, agitate, motivate, and organize Black people in our city in our base building and programmatic work, in solidarity with white allies and other people of color and marginalized communities.

We believe that in our work to build a better world, we must be held accountable by each other, the communities we work in, and by the movement. We reject the leadership of organizations and people who opportunistically seek to take advantage of popular movements for personal or professional gain, and believe that we all must be held accountable to working in the community’s interests under their leadership.

We believe that all of our work, as much as possible, should build on the legacies of the struggles and victories of Black people and other liberation movements that came before us. We are especially influenced by the movements that have brought about positive social change for Black people and poor people in the U.S. South, and incorporate lessons from those movements in our organizing and programmatic work.