CRC’s Mission and History

Mission

Community Ready Corps (CRC) is a Black self-determination organization based in Oakland, California, that works to build capacity in 9 specific areas through their Black Solidarity Process and Plan of Action. They have been a critical force within Bay Area social movements and social movements nationally for over two decades. Their leadership and core staff are Black community leaders who have experienced first-hand the multitude of harms caused by white supremacy and are deeply committed to the safety, survival, and self-determination of Black people, not just in the Bay Area, but all over the world.

History

CRC began building Black self-determination in West Oakland in the late 1980s. They ran a school, organized food and clothing drives, used martial arts programs to teach self defense and self discipline to Black youth, and developed their harm reduction community security model, providing security for Glide Church in San Francisco, the Laurel Business Improvement District, as well as numerous community organizations throughout Oakland. These deep roots fostered deep trust and relationships within the Black community, including street-level leaders. 

As a result, in 2009 CRC was called on to provide leadership in the Justice for Oscar Grant movement, CRC’s first campaign for police accountability which sustained mass protest activity over the course of 18 months, leading to the first ever conviction of a California police officer for killing a Black person. 

CRC’s movement building work has continued and evolved over the years, from co-chairing the Black August Organizing Committee lifting up the legacy of Black prisoner resistance, to planning logistics for the 2014 Black Friday BART shutdown that put Black Lives Matter on the map in the national media, to co-founding the Anti Police-Terror Project to serve families impacted by State violence, organizing the State of Black Oakland, and escalating the housing justice movement with direct actions that won eviction moratoriums and strengthened tenant protections. 

CRC continues to expand their role and reach to address the most pressing issues facing the Black community and support the overall growth and health of the movement at large. 

Learn more about CRC and their work on their social media: Instagram / Facebook