Program: | National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice, Washington, D.C. | Contact(s): | Rev. Joseph M. Conrad, Executive Director: (202) 529-6480 | Purpose: | To strive for social and economic justice both inside the church and throughout American society | | The National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice (NCCIJ) was established in 1960 as a civil rights advocacy arm of the Roman Catholic Church. NCCIJ is involved in encouraging interracial dialogue in the areas of social and economic justice. For example, when NCCIJ discovered that, although minorities comprised 50 percent of the Catholic church's membership, less than .001 percent of the church's purchases were from minority-owned businesses, NCCIJ organized conferences around the country to connect businesses with Catholic buyers. In addition, NCCIJ currently focuses its programming in the areas of equal employment and purchasing opportunities for minority- and women-owned small businesses. |