Where does this leave us now?

Black communities in the US  (which include women, immigrants, queer folks, and muslims) are bracing for a string of worst case scenarios coming to life: mass incarceration and deportation in hyperdrive; disappearing public services; collapsing infrastructure; nonexistent disaster relief; unregulated environmental racism; reproductive injustices; and restricted access to education,freedom of religion, sexual expression and dissent.  Each its own crisis.

We know that the way out of a crisis is always together. And those of us in the Black solidarity economy know that crises always lead to an increase in cooperatives. We know this from our experience building the food co-ops, sou sous, mutual aid networks, and worker cooperatives our communities need when there are no grocery stores, banks, disaster relief services or employers to be found.

But there’s something even more critical to realize as we prepare to face one crisis after another. The solidarity economy is about more than getting our basic needs met. We’re laying the foundation for a way out of capitalism, an economy that strengthens relationships instead of commodifying and breaking them. And we’re doing it by honing the tools and skills needed to work together, make decisions together, manage our conflicts together, and listen and care for each other in the process. These are the ways of operating at the heart of shared ownership & control, the defining features of cooperatives and the solidarity economy.

Our fight against fascism rests on our ability to normalize the radical idea that regardless of whether it’s supplying groceries, setting workplace policies, or determining a city’s budget, those that are impacted by a decision get to have a say.

Are we perfect? Hell no! Do we get it wrong and fall flat on our faces? Absolutely! It’s how we learn and get better. How well we do that and share those lessons is the challenge for our movement over these next four years to come.