Call for Submissions: The Gary National Political Convention of 1972

Black Perspectives, the award-winning blog of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), invites blog posts centering on the Gary National Political Convention of 1972 in time for its 50th anniversary in March of this year. The Gary Convention, held from March 10 to 12, 1972, powerfully shaped Black politics in the United States afterward, and continues to have a profound influence of Black politics, culture, and Black America’s relationship to the two major American political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. 

“It’s nation time!” was the rallying cry of the Gary Convention. Liberals, nationalists, communists, and virtually every other Black political group was represented at the convention. The Black Power Movement and the Civil Rights Movement both exercised valuable influence on the convention’s proceedings. The rise of a new Black politics, north and south, also shaped the event. By its end, the Gary Convention represented both the promise of this new Black politics, and its limits. For the 50th anniversary, we are seeking essays that reflect on the convention itself, the intellectual, cultural, and political context of the event, and the legacy of Gary 1972. 

We encourage potential contributors to submit guest blog posts that explore topics that include but are not limited to the following:

• The Black political and intellectual history leading up to the 1972 Gary Convention. 
• The ideological and political debates that took place during the Gary Convention. 
• The intersection of art and politics at the Convention, seen in the presence of figures such as Amiri Baraka. 
• The Gary Convention’s short and long term legacy for Black political and intellectual history. 

The submissions should be between 900 to 1500 words. They must be submitted to editors@blackperspectives.org no later than Friday, February 25 by 11:59 p.m. All submissions will undergo a peer review process before they are accepted. Please click here for more details on the blog’s submission guidelines.