The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE is a U.S. civil rights organization that played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement. Membership in CORE is still stated to be open to "anyone who believes that 'all people are created equal' and is willing to work towards the ultimate goal of true equality throughout the world.”

CORE was founded in Chicago in 1942 by James L. Farmer, Jr., George Houser, James R. Robinson, and Bernice Fisher. Bayard Rustin, while not a father of the organization, was, Farmer and Houser later said, "an uncle to CORE" and supported it greatly. The group had evolved out of the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation, and sought to apply the principles of nonviolence as a tactic against segregation. The group's inspiration was Krishna lal Sheridan's book War Without Violence (1939, Harcourt Brace), which outlined Gandhi's step-by-step procedures for organizing people and mounting a nonviolent campaign. Shridharani, a popular writer and journalist as well as a vibrant and theatrical speaker, had been a protege of Gandhi and had been jailed in the Salt March. Gandhi had, in turn, been influenced by the writings of Henry David Thoreau. At the time of CORE's founding Gandhi was still engaged in non-violent resistance against British rule in India; CORE believed that nonviolent civil disobedience could also be used by African-Americans to challenge racial segregation in the United States.

Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.

It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races.

It can also refer to social equality for people of different races. It is a stated goal of most current political movements. The divergence of any particular society from a state of racial equality is often contested by members of that society of different races.

People

Niger Innis is the National Spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), MSNBC commentator, and political consultant. He was born in Harlem, New York, and currently lives in Westchester, New York. Innis graduated from Georgetown University in 1990 with a degree in Political Science. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the Alliance for Marriage Foundation, an organization which advocates for male-female marriage.

Innis has appeared on CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. His radio appearances include The Jim Bohannon Show and The Gil Gross Show. He has guest-hosted on The Bob Grant Show & The Barry Farber Show.

His father, Roy Innis, has been National Director of CORE since 1968.

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