Written by Noemi Giszpenc, executive director
(Hat tip: N.K. Jemisin)
Making a special time to celebrate Black History is an unfortunate symptom of living in a white supremacist society. That said, we ♥ Black History! There is so much to learn and be inspired by–and, of course, to be aware of as we make our way toward healing and reparations. History is crucial for understanding the present day and for dreaming the future.
This morning, for example, I learned about the value of the land that freed slaves didn’t receive after slavery ended. Conservative estimates put the value today at $1.5 to $2 trillion (with a “t”). Now put this thought alongside the steady loss of land that Black farmers have experienced, largely due to discriminatory practices and structural racism (see for example this story about Shirley Sherrod (or this longer one!), the first Black woman inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame). We learned from Suparna Kudesia’s presentation at Principle Six (video, slides) that in 1910, 14% of the nation’s farmers were Black, but by 2017, that number had fallen to 1.4%. (This recent article in the New York Times illustrates the locations of these farmers.)
As we contemplate the current wave of farm succession, with 400 million acres of farmland expected to change hands this decade, we have to support a reversal of land losses by Indigenous and Black people. We are imagining and shaping a future where Black and Indigenous farmers care for the land and secure good livelihoods. (See the fundraisers for New Roots, Compost Co-op, and Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust.)
Or take the historic inauguration last month of Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman, first Black person, and first South Asian person to win this office. This is cause to celebrate, though the fact that her departure from the Senate left the chamber without a single Black woman–Harris was only the second, after Carol Mosely Braun served one senate term for Illinois–leaves a lot to be desired. It is long past time that the people making the rules reflect more the people who are governed, if we wish to aspire to be a republic of the people, by the people, and for the people. That goes for our cooperatives as much as our Congress! It’s time to picture a future with more Black leaders.
Our present moment will be history one day–what do we want people to look back and see? What can we do today that will bring us closer to the future we want?
I am inspired by the great Civil Rights leaders, so well documented by Jessica Gordon-Nembhard in her book Collective Courage, who understood that cooperation was both a means and an end. It was a form of collective liberation, since owning the food store, housing, or your job meant you couldn’t be coerced into not registering to vote. Unfortunately, white supremacy has meant that co-ops that liberated their Black members became targets. For example, the lynching that radicalized Ida B. Wells was an attack on a prominent Black-owned co-op in Memphis.
Our present moment of turmoil, with the Covid-19 pandemic devastating families and businesses, particularly in communities of color, and police brutality terrifying Black and Brown people, is giving us the opportunity to question all of our assumptions about what is normal, what is fair, or what is inevitable. Studying history lets us see that people have always made choices, shaped institutions, and bucked trends. The Movement for Black Lives policy platform envisions a slew of changes that would bring care and well-being to Black people living in America, including provisions for supporting Black-owned and led cooperatives. What can we as cooperators do to promote resources shifting into the future of Black lives?
Black history is essential. We cannot know ourselves, much less heal our wounds, without understanding the sometimes tortuous path we’ve taken so far. And imagination lets us envision how life will be when we are collectively healed and liberated. So let’s go make some really great future history, today!