Cooperatives and People of Color Conference 2017

On Friday, October 20, 2017, the Cooperatives and People of Color Conference 2017 was held at the Farm Bureau in Indianapolis. Conference presenters shared the stories of people of color who are working with co-ops.

Mat Davis, a local urban farmer and food access advocate, spoke about the ties cooperatives have to local food and farming communities.

"A lot of these cooperative models/examples are food co-ops," Davis said, mentioning the Detroit-base D-Town Farms and Renaissance Food Co-op in Greensboro, NC, both of which had speakers at the conference. 

In its second year, the conference was organized by the Indiana Cooperative Development Center. It featured speakers from Cooperation Jackson and Fuerza Laboral, with special guest Jessica Gordon Nembhard, author of Collective Courage. Each speaker focused on how the cooperative business model—based on democratic member control—can lead towards more sustainable, sufficient communities and a greater sense of economic justice.