ABSTRACT
The Los Angeles racial uprising of April-May 1992 illustrated the current crisis of African-American political leadership in the country. With relatively few exceptions, such as Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the vast majority of middle-class black leaders did little to justify or to explain critically the factors behind the rage among young African-Americans. The old division of "East versus West" has been replaced by a new geopolitical and economic alignment of "North versus South". One factor which has radically changed the context of African-American politics is the post-Cold War international conjecture and the collapse of Third World revolutions. Niagara was essentially an annual forum which brought together progressive black voices without the imposition of arbitrary political or ideological conformity, but with the goal of advancing a black progressive agenda. A New Niagara Movement could identify progressive black elected officials, working with them and their staffs to promote progressive agendas.
