In Houston, the National Black United Front, an organization that includes all social, political, religious and cultural groups in the Black community, took an abandoned former crack house and renovated it into a community meeting space. In Washington D.C. the organization created the Feed the Hood Project, a monthly distribution of basic needs such as food, personal hygiene products, medical supplies and clothing.
Now the 30-year-old organization, with chapters around the country, wants to bring their movement to Pittsburgh. At a meeting at the Homewood library on March 9, NBUF National Vice Chairperson Salim Adofo made a presentation on how his organization’s practices could be implemented in Pittsburgh and called on the Black community to put their differences aside.
“We’re here to talk about building a Black united front,” Adofo said. “A lot of times we let the names given to us by people who don’t care about us define who we are. It separates us and while we’re arguing about whose ideology is right, resources are being taken away.”
Formed in the 1970s NBUF has roots in the Black Nationalist movement of the civil rights era. The organization prides itself on not seeking government grants, which are the primary source of funding for many of Pittsburgh’s Black nonprofits.
“How can we as a community move forward if we are not financially independent and politically independent of the entity that put us in this position to begin with. We haven’t solicited a grant,” Adofo said. “We can’t deal with the issues and be funded by Capital One. We can’t advocate for reparations knowing the ancestors of those corporations are the ones that enslaved us and then ask them for a hand out.”
With this principal in mind, NBUF takes on small projects, drawing from resources within the community. Their areas of focus are Afrikan centered education and economic development.
“I saw a couple of abandoned houses in Pittsburgh. What would it take to renovate one of those buildings,” Adofo said. “Start with a daycare center and add on a grade each year. And then we could employ our people. Someone’s going to need to do the plumbing. You’re going to need furniture.“
The organization also operates a number of education programs such as the Ajamu Youth Investment Group. This program uses an African-centered method to teach children about finance and co-operative economics.
“A lot of times we come to these programs and we walk away and go home and then we come back and say the same things. We don’t want to do that,” Adofo said. “We do want to start some economic project.”
Pittsburgh has already taken the first step in joining NBUF. On March 9 members of the Homewood community hosted a Feed the Hood Project event in their neighborhood and have plans to continue the event monthly.
“Because Pittsburgh is very divided we need a unified agenda,” said Nazura Asaseyeduru, a community organizer who brought NBUF to Pittsburgh and is leading the local Feed the Hood Project. “Even those people who don’t necessarily want to join an organization, if they see we are all united, maybe they will try to support the effort in some way.”