 It served as a branch of Amiri Baraka’s Congress of African People (CAP) until 1974, when The East pulled out of CAP due to CAP's ideological shift towards increased Marxism.Originally located at 10 Claver Place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, The East served as a hive of many activities.It provided day care for children and evening classes for adults, and served as home for "Black News", a bookstore, restaurant, catering service, food co-op, and a bi-weekly national Black nationalist news publication.