Linda Jones (co-President) and Whitney Potter (Diversity Circle Representative) attended the #Shift Summit. Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses (GRABB) hosted the event. The guest speaker was Dr. Jessica Nemhard author of Collective Courage, a history of African American cooperative economic thought and practice
.
She spoke of cooperative projects going on around the country in the African American community. City Commissioner Joe Jones seemed inspired, saying "a coop is as good as it gets."
Dr. Nemhard stressed that coops
• Develop solidarity and trust between members
• Anchor and recirculate money within the community
• Offer good employment
• Build community wealth
• Are economically and environmentally sustainable
• Address failures of the market.
Whitney and Linda were excited to make new connections with the members of GRABB and other attendees. Making sure our member/owners reflect the diversity of Grand Rapids is a top priority for us. We see the food coop as a way to build effective and lasting bridges within our community.
|