Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Its goals include equal rights, quality education, and economic and political opportunities for African Americans.
When CORE was founded in 1942, it favored integration as a means of achieving its goals. In 1968, it changed its focus from integration to community control. CORE sought ways to enable the African American community to control its schools and other institutions in order to provide quality goods and services for African Americans.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, CORE was involved in a number of lawsuits. A case in New Jersey ended in 1979 with a settlement in which CORE agreed to change its fund-raising methods. In 1982, a New York lawsuit against CORE was settled out of court. The state attorney general had charged that CORE had collected funds for services to the poor that it did not provide. CORE headquarters are in New York City.
