Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice

Acknowledgments

This has been more than a ten-year project and has taken up much of my academic career. Therefore, almost everyone in my life has had to hear about the book or wait on me while I reedited or submitted yet another version . Most of the public presentations I have made have been about the book, so many audiences have listened patiently as I talked about the project . Many people have expressed kind interest in this book, and I’ve received several offers of book parties. So there are many people to thank. If I have forgotten anyone, please blame it on aging and overwork, and not on intentional oversight. This has been a cooperative effort. Heartfelt thanks—for faith and friendship and for always believing that the book would be finished and would be great—go out to many people in my life, especially the following: j. jerome hughes (“How can I help to make sure the book gets done?”)—for myriad small and large gestures and tasks, free research assistance, and editorial advice. dominic moulden—for moral support and for reading the entire manuscript at least once! ajowa nzinga ifateyo—for always providing information and insight, support , and especially ideas for promotion and dissemination. curtis haynes—for inspiring me to ask the question, for eternal intellectual inquiry, and for modeling the praxis. moussa walker foster—for faith, genuine interest, research, and editing. tom pierson—for adding my interests to yours and always sharing your great research. Acknowledgments x acknowledgments melinda chateauvert—for indescribable generosity in sharing personal research that provided essential historical perspective on the Ladies’ Auxiliary. clyde woods—for incredible insights, wisdom, and historical perspective, and for introducing me to the cooperative side of Fannie Lou Hamer. faye williams—for always asking about the book and reminding me of my priorities. I am indebted to my family and friends for their spiritual support and inspiration . My parents, Drs. Susan E. G. Gordon and Edmund W. Gordon, have always supported me in every way possible and continuously believed in me—their love and wisdom have been indispensable. My children are my inspiration and my purpose. Additional friends have enriched the book and my life in countless ways: Rosemarie Maldonado, Audrey Gillette, Rubie Coles, ShepsaraAmenamm Berry, Tania Abdulahad, Mary Helen Washington , Elsa Barkley Brown, Rosemary Ndubuizu, Tanya Mitchell Lander, Khalil Tian Shahyd, Valerie O. Pang, Bob Stone, Christina Clamp, Gary Dymski, Sonia Pichardo, Michael Johnson and the members of the Grassroots Economic Organizing Collective, and the members of Organizing Neighborhood Equity DC. I am grateful to my research assistants: T. J. Learman, who was there at the beginning and found some of the original information from Crisis magazine and other publications, Christelle Onwu, Dwayne Pattison, Chryl Laird, Charlotte Otabor, Morgan Diamond, Nigel Greaves, Laura Blackwood, and Mike McGuire (who read through all the FSC annual reports). In-kind support and generous information also came from the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund: John Zippert, Ajamu Nangwaya, Ralph Paige, George Howell, Heather Gray, Jerry Pennick, Melbah Smith, and Myra Bryant. Financial and academic support was generously provided by the University of Saskatchewan Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and its director, Lou Hammond Ketilson (with support from CURA and SHHRC grants from the Canadian government); the Howard University Economics Department and the Center on Race and Wealth (and their directors, Rodney Green, Charles Betsey, and William Spriggs), which provided several research grants and a research assistant (with Ford Foundation grants to the Center on Race and Wealth); a PSC-CUNY 2012–13 research grant and the PSC union contract , which includes course buyouts, at City University of New York (through John Jay College); the John Jay College Provost’s Office (through the Research Foundation of CUNY) for research support; the Africana Studies Department acknowledgments xi at John Jay College, CUNY, and its chair, C. Jama Adams; the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, College Park, and its director at the time, Sharon Harley; the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, College Park; and the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives in Madison (USDA research grant). Many thanks to Sandy Thatcher, my first editor at Pennsylvania State University Press, for always believing me when I promised to meet a deadline, and for maintaining his enthusiasm. Thanks to Kendra Boileau for seeing it through to the end and to Robert Turchick...