User:JamieF/Federation of Southern Cooperatives draft
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives the United States' largest and oldest cooperative association of Black landowners, farmers, and cooperatives. The Federation works to ensure land retention. training, development, and advocacy for farmers (African American farmers in particular) while increasing income.[1][2] They currently represent 75 cooperatives and community-based organizations made up of 10,000 primarily Black landowners and farmers.[3] While primarily focused on African American farmers and landowners, The Federation also assists Indigenous, Latino, and white limited resource farmers and landowners as well.[2]
Mission
[edit]The mission of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives is "to be a catalyst for the development of self-supporting communities through cooperative economic development, land retention, and advocacy."[4] They work to provide technical assistance, and education, while coordinating networks of resources and partnerships to address issues faced by land owners and farmers.[5]
History
[edit]The Federation is non-profit 501c.3 established in 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia in order to create economic development opportunities in the Southern United States for rural communities and Black farmers.[6][7] Twenty-two cooperatives from 9 Southern states formed the Federation after seeing the need to advance economic autonomy and advocate for Black farmers and rural communities following the example of marketing and business cooperatives that grew out of the Civil Rights Movement.[2] Economic cooperation has a long history in the African American community beginning during slavery as enslaved individuals worked together to learn to read, save and pool money, and garden together to provide a healthier and more varied diet for their families.[8]
The cooperatives
References
[edit]- ^ Kurn, Jessica. "Federation of Southern Cooperatives". Farm Aid. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ a b c "A Model Network: The Federation of Southern Cooperatives | NESAWG". nesawg.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ "The Federation of Southern Cooperatives: Economic Justice Through Cooperative Development". Shared Capital Cooperative. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ "The Federation of Southern Cooperatives". Federation Coop. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ "TODAY Show features Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund in conversation about Black land ownership". NCBA CLUSA. 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund. "Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund Statement of History, Background, and Cooperative Philosophy" (PDF). University of the Virgin Islands. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Archivist, Courtney Tutt, Project (2021-02-05). "The Federation of Southern Cooperatives Training and Research Center (RTRC)". amistadresearchctr. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ NEMBHARD, JESSICA GORDON (2014). Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. Penn State University Press. pp. 27–30. doi:10.5325/j.ctv14gpc5r. ISBN 978-0-271-06216-7.