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New Economy Roundup: Women’s Resistance, Black Food Sovereignty, Rural Electric Co-ops

Mar 8, 2024 | New Economy Roundup

This month we’re talking about how women around the world resist and build solidarity, worker and community member actions in Minnesota, fostering Black food sovereignty in Detroit, taking action against imperialism in Haiti, and more.

From NEC member Fertile Ground Co-op’s monthly newsletter: “Happy March! This Women’s History Month, we are thinking of Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Halena Wilson, Maggie Lena Walker, Ida B Wells, the Combahee River Colony, the Freedom Quilting Bee, and the powerful role that countless women have historically played in the struggle for economic empowerment and community resilience.”

Black Feminist Cooperation: Susu, Partner (Jamaica), Equub (Ethiopia and Eritrea), Hagbad (Somalia), Sol (Haiti) – whatever you call it – Black women have historically created Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) to help each other with financial responsibilities like paying large bills to growing their business – especially the latter. ROSCAs helped Black Immigrant women in Minneapolis buy a mall when misogynoir, and xenophobia blocked them from scaling up. This story and the ones that go undocumented represent a legacy of solidarity economy as a tool Black feminists have used to protect each other despite the conditions of capitalism.

Worker Power in Minnesota: Thousands of Minnesota workers walked off the job this week in a coordinated strike across sectors and unions. The action is 10 years in the making and is remarkable both for the level of cross-union organizing and the deep level of community engagement that went into crafting the demands. As the newsletter Strikewave reports, “Minnesota unions spent years aligning their contracts to allow for mass strike action.” Learn more about how Minnesota’s working class is going on the offensive and building community power around the question, “what can we win together?”

Resisting Food Apartheid in Detroit: The Detroit People’s Food Co-op (DPFC), set to open May 1st, will be the only Black-led, community-owned grocery store in the Midwest. Tune into the latest episode of the Building Local Power podcast from NEC member the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, to learn more about the organizing history of the co-op and how it represents a vital step towards fostering Black food sovereignty in a neighborhood historically affected by food apartheid.

Rural Electric Co-ops: This week, the Rural Power Coalition launched, “Power to the People: The Story of Rural Electric Cooperatives,” a new animated short film that tells the story of Rural Electric Cooperatives from their founding during the New Deal in the 1930s up until the present day. This is the first of a new series about the history of rural electrification and the opportunity for transformation offered by the promise of $11 billion for new rural clean energy programs included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Watch and share the video.


Third World Women Resist: Tomorrow, on International Working Women’s Day (March 8th) hundreds of thousands of women all over the world will take to the streets. The Palestinian Feminist Collective has organized actions in LA, San Francisco, Detroit and Chicago focused specifically on the liberation of Palestine as a feminist issue. Study their points of unity, take a deep dive into grief, care and radical hope in Palestinian feminist praxis, and check out our resource list to learn how women all over the globe are building feminist and popular economies from below.

Hands Off Haiti: Haiti has declared a state of emergency this week, after a series of prison breaks were orchestrated that are thought to be part of an attempt to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry. While mainstream media is quick to decry “gang violence,” learn how this violence is deeply connected to US-backed imperialism and regime change. Take action in defense of Haitian sovereignty all month long with Black Alliance for Peace.

This week, NEC launched our brand new Solidarity Economy Funding Library! The Funding Library aims to help democratize movement funding by cataloging hundreds of funders, non-extractive investors, and fiscal sponsors who are moving resources into regional solidarity economy projects. Learn more about the Funding Library and how cooperative organizers are mobilizing to democratize funding by watching the recording of our launch webinar, “Will the Revolution be Funded?”

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ALL JOBS

Cooperative Developer, Cooperacion Santa Ana
Cooperative Economics Small Business Manager, Unite Oregon
Development Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
Special Projects Coordinator, Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC
Unite- EJ Finance Manager, Climate Justice Alliance
Unite- EJ Program Coordinator, Climate Justice Alliance

Just Economies Summit

The California Just Economy Summit 2024 features leaders of community organizations and nonprofits from across the state. Close to 100 grassroots leaders and policy specialists will gather at the Capitol Event Center this Friday and Saturday to identify the most urgent steps toward a more just economy in our state. (March 8-9 – Sacramento, California)

Community, Culture, Cooperation: Innovating Solutions to Economic Violence
The University of Missouri Kansas City invites you to participate in a conversation of scholars and activists; researchers and community organizations; educators and students; thinkers from across disciplines – social sciences, humanities, arts, sciences – to innovate solutions drawing on the resources of community, culture and cooperation that challenge our conventional understanding of economies and economic growth. (March 8-9 – Kansas City, Missouri)

Futuring the Land Justice Movement
Join us as we mark the transition to our new name, Land Justice Futures, by celebrating the vision and wisdom of land justice luminaries from around the country. Tune into a conversation about what’s needed in the land justice movement right now from three BIPOC organizers and earth workers who are making a just and liveable future more and more possible everyday, and a sister who is organizing within her community to help make that future come to life. (March 12 – Virtual)

Worker Co-op Policy Pulse
The Worker Co-op Policy Pulse is a quarterly, bilingual (English/Spanish) space for you to hear advocacy updates from the USFWC network. You will learn about advances made in our advocacy work,new initiatives to advance worker ownership and the people who are pushing the fight forward. From local initiatives to state collaborations to federal legislation, attendees will get a birds’ eye view of how the USFWC, its partners and allies are working to expand broad-based ownership and democratic businesses across the country. (March 13 – Virtual)

Remembering Forward: Alaska’s Just Transition Summit: Vol III
The Just Transition Summit is our biennial gathering to share knowledge, skills, inspiration, and connect about the equity and justice work we are doing in our communities. Join us in Á’akw Kwáan territory as we build pathways to liberation. (March 18-20 – Alaska)

Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC Presents: Solidarity Economy Spotlight SERIES
A key part of CEANYC’s work is getting groups together across sectors and movements. One way we’ll be making that happen in the coming months is by hosting a series featuring co-ops and community-controlled groups working in banking, housing, mutual, food, and beyond. Do you want to hear these remarkable groups tell you about their work so you can join them? Then this series is for you! (March 19 – NYC Hybrid)

Co-op 101
Join Co-Op Dayton to learn more about worker-owned cooperatives, their operations, and their role in creating stable and well-paying jobs. This session offers our community a chance to explore the unique opportunities that cooperatives provide, whether you’re interested in starting your own cooperative or simply learning about them. Co-op Dayton invites community members to discover more about our organization and how to engage with us. (March 20 – Virtual)

Remaking the Economy: A Policy Vision from the Movement for Black Lives
What are the economic policies the nation needs to build thriving communities in which Black Americans can thrive? As Amara Enyia wrote in the introduction to a recent NPQ series on The Vision for Black Lives: An Economic Policy Agenda, “the Black radical tradition has long been clear on the importance of economic justice.” Register to learn how nonprofits and movement activists are advancing strategies to address the economic and social inequalities of our time! (March 20 – Virtual)

Story, Power, Place: Cultivating Liberatory Power Through Story
Through Story, Power, Place, participants learn how to guide relational and generative storytelling processes with individuals and groups, centering practices of mutual belonging and connection as the roots of lasting change. Above all, Story, Power, Place is a beloved community of practice to cultivate the skills of liberatory power—to help us collectively navigate the waves of planetary change and disruption currently taking place. (March 26 – May 24 – Apply in Advance)

9th National Conference On Community and Restorative Justice
Join us in this defining moment as we envision, explore, and take action to ensure community and restorative justice principles not only survive but thrive within our own lives, families, and communities, and as we reimagine the systems and structures that underpin our society. By joining together, we will create impactful connections, enable the exchange of ideas and knowledge, and provide experiences that inspire tangible change. Together, we have the capacity to establish a legacy that is inherently restorative, leaving a profound and enduring mark on our world. (July 29 – Aug 1 – Washington, D.C.)

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