Southern Negro Youth Congress

We are embarking on a journey to launch a new initiative, one that draws strength from the SNYC's foundation while addressing the urgent needs of today. This initiative is about more than honoring a legacy; it's about laying the groundwork for a future where young leaders are equipped to navigate and shape the political landscape, where their voices are not just heard but are influential in driving change.

Dr. Johnnie Cordero

State Chairman

Javar Juarez

Program Director

Marcia Downs

Executive Secretary

Vacant

Regional Youth Advisor

Empowering Voices, Forging Futures

Welcome to the Southern Negro Youth Congress

Founded in 1937, the Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC) emerged as a beacon of hope and change, dedicated to empowering young Black Southerners to dismantle the barriers of racial injustice and economic disparity. Born from the vibrant, left-wing civil rights activism of the 1930s, our organization has always believed in the power of interracial, working-class coalitions to challenge the southern caste system and advance the cause of democracy and equality.

Throughout our storied history, the SNYC has led boycotts, voter registration drives, and legal advocacy, fighting for the rights and representation of African American communities against the backdrop of a nation grappling with its conscience. Our members, including luminaries like James Jackson, Esther Cooper Jackson, and supported by icons like Mary McCleod Bethune and W.E.B. Du Bois, have paved the way for generations of activists committed to social justice.

Yet, our mission is far from complete. Today, we stand at a crossroads. The specter of fascism and systemic inequality threatens to undermine the very fabric of our democracy. Young Black Southerners face disenchantment, disconnected from a political process that seems indifferent to their voices and needs.

This is not just a challenge; it's a clarion call for a new generation of leaders to rise, informed, engaged, and ready to shape the future of our democracy. We are launching a new initiative that builds on the SNYC's legacy while addressing the urgent needs of today. Our goal is to create a vibrant, inclusive platform that empowers young leaders, ensuring their voices are not only heard but are influential in driving meaningful change.

We invite you to be part of this transformative journey. Your voice, your energy, and your vision are crucial as we work to re-engage young Black Southerners in the electoral process, equip them with the tools for effective advocacy, and create a future where every vote counts, and democracy thrives.

Together, we can overcome the challenges of today and achieve the triumphs of tomorrow. Inspired by the enduring spirit and achievements of the SNYC, let's ignite a new movement dedicated to empowering the leaders of tomorrow.

The Southern Negro Youth Congress is more than an organization; it's a promise to future generations that the fight for justice and equality will continue, with their hands at the helm and their voices leading the way.

Join us as we honor our past, embrace the present, and forge a future where the legacy of the SNYC lives on, vibrant and impactful, in the hearts and actions of young leaders across the South.

We Demand Our Rights: The Southern Negro Youth Congress

C. Alvin Hughes
Vol. 48, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1987)

Members of the Southern Negro Youth Congress

Members of the Southern Negro Youth Congress Meet with Idaho Senator Glen Taylor

Civil Rights Activist Jack O'Dell

To J. Edgar Hoover, O’Dell was the Communist puppet-master pulling the strings in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s. To Martin Luther King Jr., he was a trusted counselor and talented organizer whose pioneering work in direct-mail fundraising furnished the financial sinews that made nonviolent resistance to segregation a viable—and winning—national strategy. He ran the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Harlem office, and when Maya Angelou resigned from the SCLC’s Atlanta-based Voter Education Project he took on that role as well. To President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, O’Dell was a dangerous man—and getting rid of him the price that King had to pay for presidential support. Yet O’Dell’s career as a radical thinker, inspirer, fomentor of protest and strategist of progressive politics was far from over.

SNYC Board Meeting Minutes Circa 1948

Southern Negro Youth Congress Executive Board Meeting Birmingham Alabama January 3rd, 1948

Shirley Graham, 1946

Shirley Graham Du Bois (born Lola Shirley Graham Jr.; November 11, 1896 – March 27, 1977) was an American-Ghanaian writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf prizes for her works.

Esther Cooper Jackson

Esther Victoria Cooper Jackson (August 21, 1917 – August 23, 2022) was an American civil rights activist, social worker, and communist activist. She worked with Shirley Graham Du Bois, W. E. B. Du Bois, Edward Strong, and Louis E. Burnham, and was one of the founding editors of the magazine Freedomways, a theoretical, political and literary journal published from 1961 to 1985. She also served as organizational and executive secretary at the Southern Negro Youth Congress.

Louis E. Burnham

Louis Everett Burnham (September 29, 1915 – February 12, 1960)[2] was an African-American activist and journalist. From his college days, and continuing through adulthood, he was involved in activities emphasizing racial equality, through various left-wing organizations, campaigns and publications in both the northern and southern United States, particularly in New York City and Birmingham, Alabama.

Mordecai Wyatt Johnson

The key components of the first Congress were noted by the seminar on “The Role of the Negro Church in Solving Social and Economic Problems of the Negro Youth,” as well as the keynote address delivered by Dr. Mordecai Johnson, the first black president of Howard University