Our Story

NCCJ was founded in 1927 as the National Coalition of Christians and Jews, in response to anti-Catholic sentiment being expressed during Al Smith's run for the Democratic nomination. Its founders included prominent social activists such as Jane Addams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes who dedicated the organization to bringing diverse people together to address interfaith divisions. Several years later NCCJ expanded its work to include all issues of social justice including race, class, gender equity, sexual orientation and the rights of people with different abilities.

In the 1990’s, the name was changed to the National Conference for Community and Justice to better reflect the breadth and depth of its mission, the growing diversity of our country and our need to be more inclusive.

Headquartered in New England, NCCJ continues to draw upon its proud tradition of championing the cause of social justice for all and its mission of fighting bias, bigotry and racism in all its forms and to work toward building strong and inclusive communities.

NCCJ's Mission