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Black Power part 5
When Lamont was brought to trial, the jury was deadlocked and a new trial was ordered. A New York Times reporter who blamed the foreman for the hung jury was caught by Carson referring to her as a 'spade chick' in front of police officers. The New York Times apologized for the racist statements. Lamont pled guilty to a lesser assault charge at his second trial.
Convention and Separation
CORE's annual convention in Cleveland, Ohio that July, 1968 was the one where Roy Innis came to power and began to turn CORE officially into a Black nationalist organization.
In response, Carson and Bronx CORE chairman Sol Herbert led a delegation that walked out of the CORE convention, stating they were going to secede with approximately thirteen other chapters (including Queens and Suffolk County CORE) and form another organization. However, according to a statement made by the still national director Floyd McKissick, Carson was asked to leave the convention by the national board of directors.
The main issue in dispute seems to be whether CORE would be a reformist organization, a philosophy represented by Innis who, to a certain extent chose to work within the system, or a revolutionary organization, a position advocated by Carson who argued Blacks must work to destroy the structure they believe oppresses them.
Both chapters had been involved in a political fight with national CORE in the 1967 convention in Oakland, as well.
These actions caused such a split in CORE that many historians have argued it represented the 'end of CORE'. Most histories of CORE, like Meier and Rudwick's, stop there. As Professor Nishani Frazier argues, however, CORE was still a viable organization.
The main goal of the rebel CORE chapter's new organization, which was to be led by Long Island CORE's Lincoln Lynch, was the creation of a Black nation, or homeland in the south, specifically an agricultural society. Since September 8, 1967, Carson had been saying in the press Brooklyn CORE would try and buy land down south and create a colony for Blacks similar to a Jewish kibbutz.
This utopian goal to 'establish a new world' could also be seen simultaneously in Floyd McKissick's idea for Soul City and the formation of the Republic of New Africa. While such ideas clearly have their origins in the Nation of Islam's calls for a separate Black nation, shades of socialism, as in the Black Panther Party could be discerned in BK CORE's inclusion of a Black co-op. The idea of collective business, Ujamma, was one of the seven principals of Kwanzaa, the African American holiday being promoted by Ron Karenga and his US organization.
As the New York Times noted, "Mr. Carson said he wanted nothing to do with White people, but we're not saying hate Whitey, we're saying its beautiful to be Black".
Ideologically, the effort sought to support the idea of Black unity and self determination. In seceding from CORE, Carson stated CORE should only be getting money from the black community because the money from White institutions such as the Ford Foundation came with strings attached.
"We don't want anything to do with the White Power structure. Personally I believe White people are a disease which has infected Black people. I do not want to live around them." "Don't get me wrong, we are not out to bomb, dynamite or destroy the White community. We don't have time for that. We just want to be left alone to do our own thing".
His plans for self sufficiency may have been somewhat naive such as opening a factory to manufacture dashikis, which would have had a very limited market and a 'short shelf life'.
The plan to create a homeland never did get off the ground. The chapter changed its name to Independent Brooklyn CORE*. In a series of statements to the press, Carson framed the chapter's position as being anti-capitalist, anti-integrationist and pro-self defense when he called for forming Black police agencies.
Ind. BK CORE then announced its plans to run a slate of candidates for political office with the Freedom and Peace party: Herman Ferguson for U.S. Senator and BK CORE members Leroy Bowser for Congress, Irv Joyner for the state assembly and Les Campbell for state senator. None of them won but it was an exercise in political power that would have long term consequences.
*According to an oral history interview of Arnie Goldwag, the process of the chapter becoming Independent Brooklyn CORE started with the 1964 Stall-In as a means to protect iteself from being expelled by the national office.
>>>> Part 6 <<<<