These Activists Believe Cooperation Is The Answer To Racial Inequality
November 11, 2019
For many Black Americans, “cooperative economics” is nothing new. Before chattel slavery, many communities in Africa tilled land “in common” and shared harvests. During slavery, sharing food, resources, and money was one of the primary ways they ensured their survival.
“If they were farming, they shared the produce,” explains Jessica Gordon Nembhard, an economics professor. “They would save money to help each other buy their freedom.”
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“Mutual aid societies” in the 1700s helped community members to take care of needs like paying for burial costs, and post-slavery, cooperation was also key to survival and success. “From Frederick Douglass to the Black Panther Party, the human rights movement is filled with examples of economic self-help,” says LaDonna Sanders-Redmond, a development consultant.
Cooperative Economics has been an integral pillar of Kwanzaa since the 1960s, and while the popularity of co-ops has grown and shrunk over the years, for many they represent both a connection to tradition and a vision for a more just economic future. Currently, Black Americans reportedly have $1.2 trillion in buying power, but only spend about 3% of their money within their own communities.
“The co-op model is so attractive because it’s sustainable by the community,” says Angela Dawson, who works with a co-op network in Minneapolis. “Everyone owns it,” she continues, “and it’s perpetual. It doesn’t depend on just one person and recycles back into the community.”
Co-ops like Fertile Ground, based in North Carolina, are leading movements in Black communities to make healthy food more accessible, create and sustain living-wage jobs, and build community through a co-op model.
Fertile Ground was founded after grocery store closures forced Southeast Raleigh into "food apartheid.”After years of visioning and fundraising, they launched an 8-week summer farmer’s market, started conducting classes and workshops, and have grown to over 400 owner-members. They recently raised enough money to conduct a market study that showed a path for feasibility for Fertile Ground to will become a Black-led, co-op grocery store in a historically Black community neglected by conventional grocery markets.
Fertile Ground is currently in the midst of an “ownership drive” that will help sustain the movement. Owners support the co-op, but also get power in the organization’s decision making, as well as financial benefits like owner specials and discounts on food, classes, and workshops.
When racism outright denied Black people access to work, food, and other amenities, communities established co-ops for food, banking, and even health insurance. Survival, collective economics and responsibility, as well as political and economic empowerment all come together in co-ops, and Fertile Ground is an incredible example of moving this legacy forward.
If you’d like to become a member-owner, check out their website and see how! You could be an essential part of the movement for Black liberation!
Georgia state Senator Lester Jackson recently introduced SB 278, a measure to merge three HBCUs (Savannah State University, Albany State University, and Fort Valley State University) into one “powerhouse” institution: The Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical University System.
At face value, it seems like it would direct sorely needed resources to schools struggling to meet enrollment quotas… but the fine print tells another story.
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The bill removes all three schools from their current home, the 26-institution-deep university system of Georgia.
And such a move wouldn’t protect these treasured institutions from issues like tuition spikes, competition from other schools, and a lack of government funding.
Instead, the bill would grant long term control to POLITICIANS in exchange for a short term solution enacted in an hour of desperation.
Under the Georgia A&M system, future state governors and senators would have the power to fill 11 out of 19 board seats with whoever they like.
Thankfully, alumni and community leaders have publicly slammed the bill and are working through independent committees to find alternative solutions to each school’s enrollment concerns.
Today, Chicago is a city often best known for its violence and corrupt government. And they’re attempting to change their reputation in one major way: raising their clearance rates.
A clearance rate is how effective police are at solving crime. High clearance rates mean police are solving a lot of crimes, but in Chicago, the police have long had low clearance rates. It got so bad that now they’re changing how they do things to try to get their numbers up.
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A nonprofit studied the issues with the Chicago Police Department, and made recommendations. ABC7 reports some recommendations include “increasing the number of detectives, and developing a consistent protocol for assigning and investigating homicide cases.”
The report also says there should be a designated homicide unit in each of the bureaus. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Superintendent Garry McCarthy reduced the city's police areas from five to three. The report recommends reversing this.
Sadly, when it comes to Black Chicagoans, our killings are more likely to go unsolved. Information obtained by WBEZ Chicago showed that the clearance rate for Black people was about HALF that of white people. Can the changes address this racial disparity?
Chicago pours a lot of money into its police instead of prioritizing community resources, but the numbers are still showing that crime is going unsolved. This problem is deeper than training. It’s about how cities choose to fight crime, and so far, that’s still mostly happening on the back end.
Rodney Reed will be killed if we don’t do something.
A murder weapon that hasn’t been tested for DNA, new witnesses, and other new evidence are just a FEW reasons this man’s execution should not proceed. How it all happened is a travesty of injustice that can’t go on.
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Convicted of a murder in 1996 in Texas, Rodney Reed has maintained his innocence for decades. And the woman killed, Stacy Stites, had a fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, that evidence points to:
A sworn affidavit has been given by a man named Arthur Snow who alleges that Jimmy CONFESSED to him.
According to the affidavit, Jimmy told Arthur Snow, “I had to kill my n*gger-loving fiancé” while the two were serving time together. Snow came forward after realizing Reed was serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. A crime Reed was convicted of committing by an ALL WHITE JURY.
Now time is running out. Rodney Reed is scheduled to die on November 20th. Countless people have come forward in attempts to help, including celebrities like Rihanna, Questlove, Meek Mill, T.I., Busta Rhymes, and more.
You can join the chorus of his supporters.
Do the right thing.
Take action to help stop the execution of Rodney Reed. Let Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles know you want Rodney to receive clemency.
Sign this petition to say NO to Rodney Reed’s execution and make a call today!
Yacht Week is apparently the “best week of your life.” It’s the “original floating festival… seven days of sailing… exploring the most picturesque pockets of the world” on a yacht, all-inclusive.
Except one thing’s missing… melanin.
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Entrepreneur Kelsy Horton felt that. “While attending the sailing events in Europe, one thing I noticed… is that they totally overlooked Africa,” he says. He also noticed that while Black attendees “made the most” of what they were offered, we usually weren’t catered to in any way.
So as we often have to do, he made his own! Yacht Week East Africa is by us, for us. “We sail for the culture and are committed to the African Diaspora,” he says. And he wants it to be more than just a party.
Yacht Week East Africa is intended to “connect more people in the African diaspora with the Motherland for leisure, business, and self-exploration.” That means it also includes delicious food and off-the-beaten-path excursions.
What started out as a single yacht experience has grown substantially since its founding in 2016. They now have multiple dates in multiple beautiful locations - the Seychelles, Kenya, and Tanzania so far.
If you’re ready to connect to your heritage, explore Africa, and party on a yacht with other Black folks, then Yacht Week East Africa might be worth checking out!
There’s no place like home. And for actor Idris Elba, he plans to help Sierra Leone however he can.
Along with his business partner, Siaka Stevens, he signed a formal agreement with Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nabeel Farida Tunis to develop Sherbro Island City into an economic engine for growth, not to mention a vacation destination like no other.
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The island is known for its green, tranquil waters, brimming with leatherback sea turtles and the largest tarpon fish you’ve ever seen!
Elba hopes that his development company’s involvement will generate job opportunities for locals and produce attractive tourism, manufacturing, and fishing markets for foreign investors, too.
While many corporations are notorious for corrupt dealings that drain the continent of its natural resources, President Julius Maada Bio hopes this partnership will “demonstrate [Sierra Leone’s] ability to partner… with transparency and integrity, and support us in rebranding our country.”
The estimated cost of early projects tops $10 million.
Just imagine how much potential stands to be realized if the trends started by Motherland investors - like recording-artist turned solar energy entrepreneur Akon and Elba - continue.
Before former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean killed Atatiana Jefferson by shooting her through the window of her home, he was a cop who made it clear he was ready to kill if he needed to. His interview tape was obtained by NBC 5 Investigates, and it shows who he is.
In Dean’s interview tape he’s asked, "Will you be able to kill somebody if you have to," and he responds "No problem," so quickly it makes you wonder if he was hoping to do just that. He implies that his not being in his 20’s at the time will make him more responsible, but that was clearly untrue.
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To make matters worse, Dean also reveals that he has a violent past. He admits to assaulting a woman in college and tells those interviewing him that he learned to be careful about his actions “and how they’re perceived by others.”
NBC5 also reports: “Dean's training records note some concerns from supervisors in his first year on the job, including that he had ‘tunnel vision’ and ‘needs improvement on communicating with the public and fellow officers.’” After Atatiana’s killing, this feels like an understatement.
It’s important to keep in mind that Aaron Dean got the job and for many officers like him, punishment isn’t something they have to worry about. Though he’s faced some consequences thus far, we don’t know how things will turn out - because killing Black people is often not seen as an injustice.