federation of southern cooperatives
August 12, 2021 -
Lawsuits brought by white farmers claiming "reverse racism" halted billions of dollars in targeted aid for Black farmers and other farmers of color provided through the American Rescue Plan. The blow has deepened distrust between the Black farming community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a relationship troubled by a history of racial discrimination and botched settlements.
July 31, 2020 -
In North Carolina, the Durham Black Farmers Market has become so popular it's now branched out to nearby Raleigh. The markets are part of a growing local food justice movement that seeks to nourish and empower Black communities that have too often been cut off from agricultural opportunity.
September 12, 2018 -
Cooperatives have a deep history in the South, and especially in African-American communities. A growing number of co-ops in North Carolina are drawing on that rich history to fill gaps created by economic inequality.
October 15, 2015 -
The Georgia-based Federation of Southern Cooperatives is the domestic winner of this year's Food Sovereignty Prize, which honors grassroots activists working for a more democratic food system.
August 7, 2015 -
The paucity of public and private investment in the rural South has caused outsized harm to African-American women and girls, but organizing efforts are underway to help them become leaders in building a more prosperous and just future for their communities.
June 12, 2015 -
The urgent need for non-predatory financial services in the South is increasingly being met by community development financial institutions, which serve small businesses and entrepreneurs while building wealth in underserved communities.
March 25, 2015 -
The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation has launched a "Southern Voices" oral history project to capture the stories of Southern leaders working for social and economic justice. The first installment focuses on elders of the movement who continue to work for the cause today.
