[3][4][5] American civil rights activist James Forman presented the first draft of the manifesto on April 26, 1969, receiving the support of the conference in a 187-63 vote of delegates.
[3][6] The manifesto made the argument that much of America had been built with black slave labor, and that churches and synagogues had implicitly played a role in facilitating that process.
For centuries we have been forced to live as colonized people inside the United States, victimized by the most vicious, racist system in the world.
[9][4] $40 million was to be divided equally among four publishing and printing companies serving the black communities of Detroit, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.
[11] On August 29, 1969, Time magazine wrote that "Since Forman first issued his arrogantly worded 'Black Manifesto' in Detroit last April, only an estimated $22,000 [equivalent to $182,788 in 2023] has trickled into the coffers of his National Black Economic Development Conference.