BLACK COOPERATIVE EDUCATION

Cooperativism as a political philosophy has been used by Africans in the building of U.S. agriculture since we were forcibly brought to the Americas from Africa. Realizing that our survival depended on working together and sharing resources, we pulled from the collective traditions from the African nations and civilizations we came from. For example, enslaved Black people might share a small kitchen garden to provide more variety of food than what the master would give. Those that had opportunities to earn money would pool those earnings to buy each other’s freedom – when there was a “master” willing to sell their “property.” 

Cooperativism is also precolonial and extends back to African antiquity, prior to the origin of the English word “cooperative” being widely used to describe the social movement based on economic democracy, regeneration, resistance to capitalism and the other intersecting systems of oppression that it depends on (white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, etc.). While ancient and powerful, cooperatives can also be significantly challenging to develop. Everything from fundraising, community buy-in or engagement, legal and financial filings, and building truly accountable and cooperative work cultures are huge hurdles from many people and communities embarking on cooperative development. Even more so, Blackness presents different dynamics that aren’t readily addressed in many cooperative resource offerings.