REadings

Jessica Gordon Nembhard (2014), Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice

Bruce Reynolds (2002), Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000: The Pursuit of Independent Farming and the Role of Cooperatives

Monica M. White (2019) Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement

Organizations

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives: https://www.federation.coop —Fighting the racist system for 50 years, helping Black farmers and rural communities that are discriminated against by local and federal agencies and policies.

BIPOC Farmer Relief Fund: https://nesawg.org/bipoc-farmer-covid-relief-fund - Fund for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) folks living in the Northeast who work in agriculture and have been economically impacted by the COVID crisis.

West Georgia Farmers Cooperative: https://wgfc.blackfarmersnetwork.com A grassroots, agricultural collective headquartered in Hamilton, Georgia. For the past 53 years, the co-op has held agriculture-focused meetings and events to help support small farmers, farming communities and local businesses in the food industry. Designed to build local food systems and wealth through cooperative economics, WGFC includes a network of beginner to veteran farmers. WGFC is also a member of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund.

Minnesota Indigenous Business Alliance (MNIBA) - MNIBA hopes to help Native communities band together, inspire individuals to become successful entrepreneurs, and build new business ventures by using community and cooperative development tools. Working with like-minded people within the cooperative movement and with Native groups in the US and Canada, MNIBA has prepared a guide to help community leaders use new and evolving co-op business models for startup enterprises. Includes a history of indigenous cooperatives. Guidebook, Beginning the Cooperative Journey Together: A Guide to Indigenous Community

LATINX COOPERATIVE RESEARCH: https://uwcc.wisc.edu/research/latinx-cooperative

OakCLT: https://oakclt.org/about/missionvalues/: OakCLT’s mission is to expand and preserve housing and economic development opportunities for Black, Indigenous, other communities of color, and low-income residents of Oakland, California.

The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC): https://www.usworker.coop/about/ - A national grassroots membership organization for worker cooperatives whose mission is to build a thriving cooperative movement of stable, empowering jobs through worker-ownership.

Black Cooperative Investment Fund: http://www.bcifund.org — A community-based 501(c)3 nonprofit fund based on the tradition of cooperative economics. BCIF provides microloans to African Americans that have a high likelihood of building financial assets.

Cooperative Home Care: http://www.chcany.org —One of the largest worker-owned cooperative in the nation, who train over 600 low-income women every year to provide home care services to New Yorkers who are elderly, chronically ill, or living with disabilities in their communities. In 2012, CHCA became the first home care company to earn a B Corp certification. As a certified B Corp, they make a public commitment to considering the impact our decisions have on our employees, suppliers, community, consumers, and the environment.