Albert Raby - CCCO Formation

CCCO Formation

Raby was an active member of the Teachers for Integrated Schools and helped form the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) in 1962. In this role, he served as the link between the national civil rights movement and Chicago organizations in helping to desegregate schools. TFIS selected him to be their delegate to the CCCO. On January 11, 1964, he was appointed the organization’s convenor (Anderson and Pickering 129).

The CCCO was crucial in bringing the national civil rights movement to Chicago. When Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Chicago on his People to People tour, he recognized that the "CCCO represented the strongest indigenous civil rights movement in the North", and he appreciated the help he received during his three-day visit. When the movement was officially launched, Raby became its co-chairman.

As a member of the Agenda Committee, Raby was instrumental in the decision to choose open housing as the initial campaign for the movement. Even before the movement began, Raby had criticized the segregationist policies of the Chicago Real Estate Board. Along with King in July 1966, he attended the initial meeting with Mayor Richard J. Daley where the demands of the movement were presented. Raby also served as a leader of open housing marches, using his position as a local leader to draw upon those in Chicago communities affected by housing segregation.