The Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture states that the first Black Solidarity Day was held on November 3, 1969, against the backdrop of the Black Power Movement and a post-Civil Rights-era America, and it was strategically observed one day prior to Election Day. It was a call to “protest against the intensifying repression that threatens the very existence of black people in America,” stated Carlos Russell, an activist, professor, and spokesperson for the Black Solidarity Committee, which was comprised of New York City-based educators, activists, community leaders, and politicians.
On Black Solidarity Day, black people were asked to stay home, take the day off from work and school, and not shop. The intent was to draw attention to the plight of African Americans who, although having made gains in the Civil Rights Movement, still faced inequality on various socioeconomic levels. Russell extended his accusation of black repression to politicians who ignored the needs of their black constituents.
