The feeling of safety and belonging are also common needs and aspirations. It is why solidarity is a core cooperative value. A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and/or cultural needs and/or aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. —International Cooperative Alliance Statement of the Cooperative Identity
I serve as a co-chair of the board of directors of PFC Natural Grocery and Deli in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a co-op that identifies as being anti-racist. Dismantling systemic oppression is an ongoing journey. As the primary organizer of our board’s work together, I aim to make sure we are holding ourselves accountable for this work. I don’t want it to get lost or forgotten amidst all of our other roles and responsibilities.
Not long after I became board president of my local food co-op, I began a more focused study of racism. I say “more focused” because, like many of us, I started learning about racism the day I was born. When I stepped into the board presidency, right away I noticed that I was being treated with less respect by some of my colleagues than I had been before I changed roles.
One of the best ways to understand how an organization is treating the people who work within it is to directly ask the employees themselves. “Staff experience” surveys are a useful tool to gauge how employees perceive their workplace
The 2022 series kicked off in May with invigorating conversations around how the cooperative principles could advance our commitment to a more equitable future. Co-op members from across the country joined these discussions and grappled with questions such as: Do we need an 8th cooperative principle aimed at equity and inclusion?
Columinate Intercultural Facilitator Darin Short has worked with a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committees, task forces, and teams across many sectors. Darin recently led a workshop, “Why Some Diversity Teams Succeed While Others Do Not” at the Thought Leadership conference in Elkhart, Indiana, in May. “No matter what setting you’re in, DEI is an emotional topic,” says Short. “We need to create safe spaces where people can express their emotions and can say exactly what they need to say with respect for the collective goal.”
Many cooperatives, social justice organizations, and businesses have begun to directly confront their own role in the social systems that perpetuate racism and inequity. Boards of directors who use Policy Governance® should feel empowered to use their policy document to clarify their expectations around the work of dismantling systems of racism and oppression.
Now more than ever communities are aware that racism is an issue that needs to be addressed. In this conversation, Columinate Consultant Darin Short speaks with Columinate's own Amaha Sellasie and Amaha's fellow professor and colleague Christa Agiro.
The authors of Everyone Welcome? Personal Narratives about Race and Food Co-ops believe that bridging the racial divide starts first with encouraging inquiry and engagement that leads toward greater awareness, problem-solving, and embracing radical change. They know starting and sustaining conversations about race are not always easy.
Creating a store that reflects the community it serves AND occupies is a difficult endeavor. At Durham Co-op Market they are committing to the hard work of being welcoming to every shopper, in a way that each shopper will feel welcomed.
