Community

To Fulfill MLK’s Dream for Economic Justice, Co-ops Like Mandela Grocery May be Answer

With 11 years of business growth, Mandela Grocery is leading the way to help form new worker co-ops in Oakland. Last spring, Mandela Grocery facilitated a 12-week, on-the-job training with founding members of the DEEP Grocery Cooperative in East Oakland. Additionally, Mandela Grocery is supporting a local Black-owned delivery service, Piikup, transition to worker ownership.

Published

4 years ago

January 15, 2021

Kiki

: photo by A.C. Fike from left to right James Bell and the late Dennis Terry

“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” was the official name for 1963’s March on Washington. Throughout his activist life, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw economic justice as the most important problem facing Black people in America. Most dire, the affliction of unemployment among Black youth.

Mandela Grocery Cooperative, West Oakland’s worker-owned grocery store with an average worker age of 30, challenges the unemployment problem and lack of dignified jobs head on.

Worker co-ops are the more imaginative approach to job creation, offering guaranteed jobs and self-determination. Workers form and join cooperatives to own and manage the business themselves.

Since the start of the pandemic and racial justice actions of 2020, Mandela Grocery has seen a sharp increase in sales and loyal customers seeking to support local, Black-owned businesses. Worker co-ops are beacons of community development offering positive psychological and social benefits plus local economic change.

In his essay, “The Cooperative Alternative,” the late Dennis Terry, Mandela Grocery’s first retiree, wrote that among the many ideals cooperatives aspire to, worker cooperatives “build community instead of abandoning it” and “promote worker solidarity instead of divisiveness.”

We need not compete for jobs as we struggle to build our communities. We must create meaningful jobs ourselves so that competition for dignified work becomes obsolete.

Mandela Grocery’s vision responds to Dr. King’s call for creative job expansion: Jobs for the people in the neighborhood. Jobs that build income, skills and community amenities. Jobs that function for our neighbors. Cooperative jobs can be jobs in various industries that are complementary and essential such as groundskeeping, design and building, food production and food distribution.

Dr. King created a blueprint for jobs creation in his proposal for guaranteed jobs:

The development of skills and education are outcomes and not prerequisites of the jobs program.
The jobs are producing community and public services that are in short supply and benefit the most vulnerable.
The job program guarantees income for individuals and families that have unmet needs.

The dignity of workers is the basis of worker cooperatives. Worker co-ops live the promise of Dr. King’s vision for economic justice. “The dignity of the individual will flourish when the decisions are in [their] own hands, then [they] have the means to seek self improvement,” said Dr. King.

Over 50 years ago, Dr. King clarified a path for economic justice rooted in cooperative values. In the wake of 2020, it is time to align our actions with these values, guaranteeing dignified work now, and for generations to come.

Visit Mandela Grocery at 1430 7th St. in West Oakland. Order online www.mandelagrocery.coop/order.

Kiki

Posts by Kiki | Website

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Activism

LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST

Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2024

Oakland Post

Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?

Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.

STREAMED LIVE!
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Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

Published

5 days ago

November 9, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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OP-ED: The Illusion of Allyship. White Women, Your Yard Signs Mean Nothing to Me

NNPA NEWSWIRE – “The blue bracelets are something White women are wearing so others can see that they didn’t vote for Trump,” says Liberal Lisa from Oklahoma on X. Chile, bye. These bracelets are hollow symbols, empty gestures that mean nothing to me. An accessory to claim distance from Trump’s legacy is superficial comfort, while the choice to not stand with us in the voting booth is far more profound.

Published

5 days ago

November 9, 2024

Oakland Post

Political yard signs can symbolize intentions and allegiance. But this year, they’ve also symbolized betrayal. During this general election, Black women were led to believe that more White women would stand with us. Exit polls, however, told a different story. Despite overwhelming displays of support, more White women still chose to vote for the convicted felon, reality TV star, and rapist. White women answered the call but left us hanging at the polls.

A Familiar Disappointment

I live in DeKalb County, Georgia, and the abundance of Harris-Walz yard signs could’ve fooled me. But I’ve seen this before, back when Stacey Abrams ran for governor. White women showed up, put up signs, attended rallies, knocked on doors, and phone-banked. Yet, when it came time to vote, they let us down—not once but twice. I’ve been here for over 15 years, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that political signs are symbols without weight.

In every election, I’ve talked with White women. Most aren’t the primary earners in their families and vote along party lines, aligning with the preferences of their fathers and husbands. These conversations reveal a reluctance to break from tradition, even when their votes affect women and certainly when their votes impact the lives of people who look like me.

The Illusion of Solidarity—Symbols Are Not Enough

On social media, I’m seeing White women posting pictures of blue bracelets to “prove” they didn’t vote for Trump. “The blue bracelets are something White women are wearing so others can see that they didn’t vote for Trump,” says Liberal Lisa from Oklahoma on X. Chile, bye. These bracelets are hollow symbols, empty gestures that mean nothing to me. An accessory to claim distance from Trump’s legacy is superficial comfort, while the choice to not stand with us in the voting booth is far more profound.

I’ve seen Black Lives Matter signs and black squares posted on Instagram to “prove” support for Black people, but we now know that was a lie, too. Will those same people who claimed Black lives mattered now take down their Harris-Walz signs and show their true selves?

Navigating these truths is a daily struggle for me—professionally and socially. White women often misuse their privilege, supporting us only when it’s convenient. Seeing overqualified Black women sabotaged or abandoned by White women at critical moments is a constant emotional challenge. It’s exhausting to live with this reality, especially when solidarity seems like something they pick up and discard at will.

One clever campaign ad from Harris-Walz that spoke directly to White women. “Your Vote, Your Choice” emphasized that their vote was private—independent of their household situation. Another was from Olivia Howell Dreizen, the “Vote Without Fear” campaign, which empowered women to consider the greater impact of their choices. But it seems many still couldn’t choose the roadmap to freedom—even when it was handed to them.

A Call for Action Beyond Words

White women, I want to believe you care, but actions speak louder than yard signs, bracelets, or Instagram posts. Show up in our communities, advocate in your workplaces, and stand up to dismantle the structures that uphold white supremacy. Only through real action will we know where you stand.

If you choose not to act, we see you—and we know exactly where you stand. Good luck these next four years.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BlackPressUSA.com or the National Newspaper Publishers Association.