Agraria_Journal_Summer_2022

AGRARIA JOURNAL 2022 17 Black farmers are also on the front lines when it comes to exposure to the ravages of climate-driven disasters. Floods, hurricanes, droughts, and freezes hit small family farms hard, killing crops and livestock. When all this is put together, we quickly get a picture of a community in crisis. THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVES Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon. The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, a 54-year-old regional cooperative institution operating throughout the South, was born from conditions very much like the ones we find today. The Federation emerged out of the 1960s struggle for racial and economic justice. Civil rights workers went into rural areas and were themselves transformed by the people they encountered. They worked with rural communities who had already begun to organize themselves not only to withstand the cruel injustices of Jim Crow and capitalism, but also to develop, at a very basic level, the future model for the organization: cooperatives. The cooperative model provides marginalized and excluded groups with a form of organization that is proven, democratic, and self-sustaining. It is a tremendously effective tool for dismantling the oppressive dynamics that led to many of the problems mentioned here. Perhaps better yet, cooperatives create spaces where everyday people may begin to live out the better world they envision. An example of this is seen in how the Federation’s cooperative model helped farmers weather the pandemic storm by harnessing and redirecting resources to Black farmers and cooperatives. After the initial national shutdowns of 2020, many Federation Cooperatives reported revenue losses of up 70%. In response, members and allies from across the South made a collective decision to support each other with education and, in some cases, direct payments. Staff was mobilized in the region to provide technical assistance to Black farmers attempting to apply for CARES Act resources. Additionally, the organization was able to utilize collaboration with the USDA to strengthen our regional marketing program, serving three very important needs: 1. Getting food to needy families 2. Providing markets to Black farmers for their commodities 3. Strengthening the long term viability of Southern Black cooperatives The cooperative model enabled the Federation to respond quickly to the crisis and implement solutions, while using a democratic and inclusive process. This is a success that we take some pride in, but we also understand that it only represents a portion of the problem faced by Black farmers and rural communities. What’s needed are more fundamental changes that set the stage for short-, medium-, and long-term empowerment for Black farmers, cooperatives and rural residents. That can only come about when we start to center racial justice (and, yes, economic and gender justice as well) not only in the spaces we’re familiar with, but also in those that are so often erased. Terence Courtney is Director of Cooperative Development and Strategic Initiatives for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. He is also co- founder of Cooperative Atlanta, a committee concerned with developing cooperative enterprises in Atlanta, Georgia. ILLUSTRATION BY BOB HUSTON