Legacy and Current Growth of Black Cooperatives
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As a community economics specialist, I had discovered that cooperatives are an excellent strategy for real grassroots community economic development. A friend and graduate classmate of mine had studied W. E. B. Du Bois' theory of cooperative economics. So I studied his work and found overwhelming evidence of Black involvement in cooperative business ownership. We had been involved in co-ops ofevery sort in a continuous history. It was the beginning of the journey. Slowly I found out more and more, through a snowball effect, each lead connecting me to new sources of information.
The original purpose of my mostly historical work was to show that Black people do have a history in cooperatives – a legacy – that we should be continuing. Initially, I didn't find many current Black co-ops, but since I've written the book, I continue to learn of more and more groups that are doing this work. I often get emails from a Black person who's starting a co-op or interested in doing so, or who has some historical material for me. People are learning about successful examples, seeing the need for co-ops, and sharing. I think that's why the movement is growing now.
What I'm noticing right now is that the growth is in food co-ops and worker co-ops, mostly in Latino and some African immigrant communities. During the Great Recession, a lot of Latino communities started utilizing worker co-ops when they couldn't get work. This growth isn't happening as much in the Black community, but there are some instances - and I am starting to learn of more and more groups who are interested in cooperative economics.
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My research reveals a continuous thread of cooperative activity and development among African-Americans over the past two centuries, because of both need and strategy. It often happens in the face of economic and political challenges and sabotage. Black cooperators have been working together, studying together, sharing resources, creating good jobs, providing affordable goods and services, developing leaders, and building economic solidarity. They have developed successful models of every kind of co-op, from farming to catering, food production grocery retail, sewing and quilting, nursing and health care, journalism, film, music production, construction, energy and utilities, education, and financial and credit cooperatives. These co-ops have often been a tool toward the elimination of economic exploitation and the transition to a new economic and social order.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33529-the-legacy-and-current-growth-of-black-cooperatives
Seems that only the wealthy expect to learn how to own and control assets, and they start them in the womb.
For the rest of us, most being trained as
employees prey, maybe something like this pops up...
