Overview

The Black Rock Coalition (BRC), now in its fourth decade, is a non-profit, member-supported organization founded to facilitate the maximum development, visibility and acceptance of Black alternative music and its creators. Founded in 1985 by guitarist Vernon Reid, producer Konda Mason, and journalist Greg Tate (we miss you) in reaction to the constrictions that the commercial music industry places on Black artists, the BRC is a collective of performers, writers, producers, publicists, activists and music fans galvanized to magnify exposure and provide resources for progressive, self-determined Black artists who defy convention. Those of us who work on behalf of the BRC do so on a volunteer basis and our dues contribute to the Coalition’s operating costs just like everyone else’s. Membership fees help us promote artists, sponsor events, maintain our website and archival storage needs, and further the cause of progressive Black artists on an international scale. That said, the BRC exists to benefit us all—musicians, writers, artists and fans alike. It’s about giving proper recognition to the creators of a co-opted art form and returning performance opportunities to some of the most talented and underappreciated practitioners of said art.