February News and Notes
Honoring Black History Month
So much of the history of cooperatives is built on the pioneering efforts of African Americans brought to this country as slaves. This centuries old economic strategy still lifts up workers and builds community wealth through shared ownership and control.
One of the best resources on the this important subject of African American cooperative development is found in Professor Jessica Gordon Nembhard’s bookCollective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. Dr. Gordon Nembhard is Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College, of the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York City, USA, where she is also Director of the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.
For more on the contributions of African American women to cooperative economic empowerment watch this episode of the Laura Flanders Show with Esteban Kelley, the executive director of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives:https://youtu.be/S7SsCuZzdKQ.
Don't miss Rosemarie and Benny on Feb 11th!
This is just one of several, free workshops at the Green New Economy Conference, a conference focused on enabling people from organizations throughout the Tennessee Valley region to learn about and strategize around approaches to economic development that foster both sustainability and equitable employment.
Interested in rethinking ownership of land?
Join our cooperative real estate learning circle. We can share the research load, invite speakers to learn more about all the cool projects going on around the nation, and see if there are ways our individual projects can intersect in some way to create an expanding cooperative ecosystem in the South. Next meeting is Wednesday, 2/17 at 6:30pm-7:30pm.
Co-Op Academy
Are you or someone you know ready to take the next step to starting your cooperative? Then it’s time to join us for our next Co-op Academy starting on February 22nd.
Emergency Relief Fund
Our Emergency Relief Fund has raised over $15,000 and distributed grants to 6 local businesses. We will be sharing their stories in the coming weeks.