Category

What We Learned at the Black Solidarity Cooperative Conference

Fred

This fall, our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship team jetted to Oakland, CA, for the Repaired Nations 7th Annual Black Solidarity Cooperative Conference, running Oct. 10-11, 2025. Over the long weekend, Program Director Nkuli Tabata and Program Manager Leanna Browne built new relationships, learned about exciting cooperative work happening throughout the country, and reconnected with folks from the 2023 conference in Ghana.

This year’s theme, Leaving a Legacy: Land, Wellness, Cooperative Futures, came to life in every moment, from the opening drumming and libations to the closing reflections that reminded us our work is both historical and visionary. Being surrounded by so many Black cooperative leaders, organizers, and culture bearers reminded us that this movement is rooted in generations of collective care, resource sharing, and imagination.

A couple standouts from the many amazing groups in attendance:

  • Aleta Toure with Parable of the Sower Co-op, a Black women-led, worker-owned, intentional community cooperative for Black women and their families. Their mission is to develop a Black land housing model for Black women organizers and worker-owned intentional communities.
  • The REAL People’s Fund, a $10 million community-powered fund and entrepreneurship program that includes non-extractive capital, holistic business support, and opportunities to build political power for BIPOC East Bay communities (Black, Indigenous, Spanish-speaking/Latine, Asian/AAPI, low income, immigrant, undocumented, formerly incarcerated and working-class communities of color)

Each session wove together practical learning with cultural and spiritual grounding. Conversations about ownership, land stewardship, and building community-based institutions were layered with song, poetry, and ancestral honoring.

“It reminded me that cooperation is not just an economic model; it is a cultural practice and a way of being that has sustained our people for generations.”

— Nkuli Tabata, Director of Community Wealth Building

Cultivating Our Cooperative Roots: A Gallery Walk of Black Cooperative Journeys

Nkuli and Leanna closed the first day with their session, Our Cooperative Roots: A Gallery Walk of Black Cooperative Journeys, highlighting people, moments, and groups in Black cooperative economics past and present.

The activity invited people to reflect on what cooperation looks like in practice, what sustains it, and what makes it hard. It moved us to see people recognize themselves in one another’s stories, the shared challenges, the moments of growth, and the deep commitment it takes to build something together. The gallery became a space of storytelling and connection, showing how our experiences are part of a larger story of Black cooperative work and collective possibility.

“It was powerful to share the story of the Black Panther Party’s Survival Programs while in Oakland, where the Black Panther Party was founded. It was also inspiring to hear and learn from Charlotte O’Neal, also known as Mama C, who shared about leading with love. Mama C and her husband, Pete O’Neal, were Black Panthers and live in Tanzania, where they co-founded the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC), an NGO based in Arusha, Tanzania, providing programs and projects for both rural and urban communities and connecting communities in America to the world.”

— Leanna Browne, North Star Program Manager

On Sunday, Leanna joined a day trip to Oaxxanda, a sanctuary of holistic healing and restoration in Berry Creek, CA. This Black-led land co-op is an exciting site of possibilities for Black people to center land stewardship, self-determination, and healing.

It was much needed to experience Black people gathering in nature to rest, be in community, and just be. We enjoyed a nourishing meal prepared by some of the organizers and connected with each other through fellowship. Some people took naps and played in the creek. Some folks went on a tour of the land to experience its fullness and see the progress of the land project. The children played, running around with laughter and joy. The fresh mountain air, quiet, and stillness were healing.

“I’m grateful I had this time and space to experience the land in community with other Black people. Much gratitude to Mia Jackson, Shayara Etter, Gregory Jackson Jr., Mikhael Ali, and the rest of the Repaired Nations team for the opportunity to share and continue building the Black cooperative ecosystem together.”

— Leanna

Listening to organizers from Oakland, Richmond, and beyond reminded us how much possibility lives within this movement. People are reclaiming land, developing cooperative businesses, and creating new models for shared wealth and belonging. These stories affirmed that our work is not only about ownership, but about building community and ensuring that our people have the power to shape their own futures.

“Leaving the conference, I felt renewed and grateful to be part of this broader journey. The experience affirmed that the work we are doing at North Star and Nexus is connected to something much bigger than ourselves. Land and legacy are not abstract ideas; they are living commitments that require care, trust, and continued practice. This gathering reminded me that the future we dream about is already unfolding in the ways we collaborate, care for one another, and choose to keep building together.”

— Nkuli

Repaired Nations has built something powerful and lasting, a living example of what it means to invest in cooperative ecosystems that center Black voices and creativity. We give our deep gratitude for hosting and curating this beautiful gathering with so much intention and care!

Since 2010, Nexus has been exploring and partnering with community, philanthropy, government, and private-sector leaders to promote community wealth building as an approach to achieving more equitable economic-development impact.

How We Define Community Wealth Building

Cooperative ownership, including worker co-ops, is a community wealth building strategy. Unlike traditional economic development, community wealth building works to build just and equitable communities by:

  • Promoting local and broad-based ownership
  • Lifting up cooperative and culturally based economic practices
  • Developing the next generation of leaders
  • Influencing economic policy and investment decisions

What’s a Worker Cooperative?

Worker co-ops are businesses that are both governed and owned by their employees. Approximately 100 new worker co-ops are started every year in the United States, and the model is taking off. Since 2019, the number of worker co-ops in the US has grown 30%!

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide policymakers, government officials, and staff with a national sample of tools and resources to incentivize worker ownership in their respective communities. Click below to learn more!

October is National Co-op Month! For people who have been intentionally shut out of mainstream economies, cooperatives and cooperative economics present a tried and true alternative.

Our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship provides training, education, and networking for new and emerging Black cooperative leaders, while our Shared Ownership Center provides in-depth technical assistance and resources for local worker and real estate investment cooperatives.

Nexus’ Community Wealth Building Director Nonkululeko (Nkuli) Tabata, North Star Program Manager Leanna Browne, and Cooperative Developer Christina Nicholson share what led them to cooperative work, the cooperators who’ve inspired them, and some of the key co-ops they’ve supported along the way.

What inspired you to get involved in the cooperative movement?

Nkuli

“The cooperative movement, for me, has been an evolving journey shaped by a deep desire for collective liberation and self-determination. It started with recognizing the power of unity and the potential of people coming together to create systems that reflect their values. The concept of Ubuntu, ‘I am because we are,’ has resonated with me deeply, as it speaks to the interconnectedness of our lives and struggles. This philosophy of shared humanity aligns perfectly with the cooperative principles of mutual aid, solidarity, and democratic decision-making.

My path was also deeply influenced by the work of Black cooperators and organizers who have long recognized that cooperatives offer a path to economic justice and community empowerment. From the teachings of our elders to the modern-day initiatives, I’ve seen how cooperatives can dismantle oppressive structures by redistributing power and resources in ways that honor the wisdom and strength of communities.

What inspired me most was seeing firsthand the transformative potential of cooperatives, not just as businesses, but as spaces of cultural and political resistance. It’s about more than just economic exchange—it’s about shifting our relationships with each other and with the land, and imagining a world where we can live with dignity, freedom, and equality. By embracing the cooperative model, we tap into our collective power, building a future rooted in cooperation, justice, and liberation.”

Leanna

“I’ve seen the familiarity of cooperative work in my life before I had the formal, specific language for it. My family is from Montserrat, in the Caribbean, and I’ve seen the ways family has come together to support each other. Examples include living in multi-family and multi-generational households when folks first move to new places where family already is; pooling resources; savings circles. I’ve also seen cooperative work in different artist communities I’m a part of.”

Christina

“I was first introduced to cooperatives through the Twin Cities’ natural foods cooperative scene when I moved to Minneapolis. Since that time, in my work, I have learned about the expansive global history of cooperatives, formal and informal. I have been able to study cooperative structures that value the labor, production, and creativity of the individuals involved in building their communities and how those contributions enrich the communities they serve.”

Who are the key figures or mentors that influenced your path toward cooperative work?

Nkuli

“Steve Biko and Black Consciousness Thought have been incredibly influential in shaping my path. Biko’s philosophy, which emphasizes the need for Black people to reclaim their sense of self-worth and power, aligns deeply with the cooperative movement’s focus on self-determination. His call for a radical shift in how Black people see themselves and their communities resonates with the principles of cooperatives, where we build systems that reflect our values and needs, and where collective ownership and decision-making are tools for liberation.

The leadership and courage of Harriet Tubman and Fannie Lou Hamer have also played a significant role in my thinking. Tubman’s fierce resistance to oppression and her work on the Underground Railroad are examples of how liberation requires not just fighting against systemic forces but also building alternative systems of support and care. Hamer’s tireless work for voting rights and her advocacy for economic justice, particularly for Black farmers, speak to the importance of political action and community-based economic solutions. Both women exemplified the kind of collective action and organizing that is at the heart of the cooperative movement.

The work of these figures, along with others, reminds me that cooperative work is not just about creating businesses or economic models; it’s about building movements rooted in collective action, solidarity, and the pursuit of liberation. Their legacies inspire me to continue pushing for systems that empower communities, foster agency, and challenge the structures of power that seek to keep us divided.”

Leanna

“Harriet Tubman, as well as the Black women in my family such as my Auntie Venoreen, Grandma Browne, and my mom.”

Christina

“My introduction to Fannie Lou Hamer and the Freedom Fund Cooperative while studying the history of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in the United States, formed in 1967. The Federation was shaped by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and focused on both economic and policy changes that historically punished Black grassroots farming communities in the South. Since that time, the Federation has worked to leverage and pool economic access to markets as well as focusing on legislation that improves the lived experience of the farmers they serve. The Freedom Farm project was started in 1969, formed with a $10,000 grant. During the time that the Freedom Farm was in operation, it had over 1500 members and helped improve the economic lives of the participating members through taking aggregated crops to market and creating a pig bank that allowed farmers to access livestock at fair prices to grow their farm size and incomes.

I first met Professor Jessica Gordon Nembhard when I attended an event at the Capri Theatre in 2015, when she was on a book tour for her powerful and groundbreaking book, Collective Courage. It was an exciting and robust conversation that helped me to further my understanding of how the history of cooperatives has always been and continues to be multifaceted and global. I have continued to follow Dr. Gordon Nembhard’s work in emerging worker cooperatives in incarcerated spaces.

I learned about the Rochdale Pioneers while working in retail cooperatives here in the Twin Cities. My understanding of the Rochedale cooperative movement is rooted in the labor movement and the desire of the members of the cooperative to be able to buy clean products at a fair price, outside of the control of the industry barons they were controlled by. Their commitment to building a decision–making system that was democratic, transparent, and fair was a new model to me, and helped me understand that the way decisions are made in community can be an impactful counterweight to unchecked power.”

What roles have you played in the development and support of cooperatives?

Nkuli

“I’ve been deeply involved in supporting Black-led cooperatives by helping build strong leaders, sustainable models, and powerful networks. Through my work leading the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship at Nexus, I’ve supported Black cooperative leaders with education, connections, and strategic tools to help them grow and sustain their work.

As a founding board member of the Taproot Investment Cooperative, I’ve helped shape community investment strategies, making sure Black and BIPOC communities have access to sustainable, locally driven real estate opportunities that build long-term wealth.

Beyond these roles, I’ve been hands-on in program leadership and strategy, managing and expanding cooperative fellowships to make sure they have lasting impact. I’ve also designed and facilitated curriculum on cooperative economics, helping communities understand and apply cooperative principles in real ways. And because this work is bigger than any one program, I’ve been active in policy and movement building, pushing for Black-led cooperative development on a broader scale and staying engaged with national networks to help grow the movement.”

Leanna

“I am a member of BLAQ, a dance company for Black people that is founded and led by DejaJoelle, that centers healing and liberation. I was also an artist in the first and second year programs for Body Prayers: For Artists, also led by DejaJoelle, a Poly-Realmic (RECLAIM, SURRENDER, CONJURE) practice that centralizes Black dancers and utilizes dance, healing, community collaboration, and transmission of knowledge to guide Black artists to their most powerful version of themselves and artistic voice.”

Christina

“I spent 20 years, from 1995 to 2015, in retail cooperatives here in the Twin Cities, supporting cooperative staff and organizations through a range of positions from Front–End Manager, Project Manager, Owners Representative, and General Manager. After completing my MBA, in the last five years I have been able to expand my work in the cooperative ecosystem through the development of worker-owned cooperatives, focusing on improving the economic and democratic infrastructures of locally owned businesses.”

In celebration of the International Year of Cooperatives, CoMinnesota, Minnesota Farmers Union, the University of Minnesota Morris, and West Central Initiative launched the first-ever Minnesota Cooperative Summit at the end of July!

The two-day gathering uplifted Minnesota’s rich history of cooperation—and invited new voices to shape its future. The event welcomed those deeply rooted in cooperative work, like Nexus, as well as those exploring it for the first time. Attendees heard real-life success stories, discovered cooperative strategies, and connected across sectors and geographies. It was a launchpad for cooperative action, showcasing how cooperation can help address Minnesota’s economic and social challenges and shape a stronger, more inclusive future.

Diana Siegel-Garcia, Christina Nicholson, and Nkuli Shongwe from our Community Wealth Building team presented on North Star and our Shared Ownership Center, connected with fellow changemakers, and left with tools and inspiration for our future work!

Attendees pose in a large group, smiling, with a banner to celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives.
Shared Ownership Center Program Manager Diana Siegel-Garcia and Cooperative Developer Christina Nicholson table with brochures about Nexus Community Partners.
Community Wealth Building Director Nonkululeko Shongwe laughs onstage with Christina as they give a presentation.
Diana, Christina, and Nkuli smile together as they mingle with other attendees.

Photo credit: Heather Elaine Fotography

Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future was the second event in our 20th anniversary series, highlighting how sharing bounty and abundance is everything—and together, we can create a brighter, more cooperative future. Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us on June 5!

During the two-hour gathering, we shared the history of Community Wealth Building at Nexus; gave overviews of our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship and Shared Ownership Center; and we listened to an incredible panel of Nexus alumni and partners:

Some key takeaways:

  • Collective solidarity is how we take care of each other.
  • Owning our labor means having control over the work we do and how the value we create is shared. It’s about making decisions together, getting a fair share, and not just working for someone, but working with others to build something we all benefit from.
  • Worker-owned cooperative models help communities push back against systems that concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few. By giving workers collective control over their workplaces, these models build local power, promote self-determination, and create alternatives that prioritize people over profit.
  • Our families have been involved in cooperatives for generations. Collectivism has been in us for generations.

We wrapped up by asking, what does Community Wealth Building mean to you? Answers ranged from abundance, healing, and connection to strength, sustainability, and cooperation. Check out the full word cloud below!

North Star Cohort 8 was a beautiful gathering of 23 fellows from 10 cooperative groups working in art, healing, homelessness, education, and more. It was also our first all-Black women and femme cohort. Founded by two Black women, Danielle Mkali and LaDonna Sanders Redmond, the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship is anchored in Black feminisms. It was exciting to cultivate a space continuing this tradition and practice! 

“What a joy, what a privilege, and what an honor it is to have witnessed this circle of powerful people,” says Nonkululeko (Nkuli) Shongwe, Director of Community Wealth Building. “The brilliance, clarity, and commitment lit up every space we shared!”

North Star Program Manager Leanna Browne reflects, “It was powerful to see multiple groups consisting of family members—sisters, mothers and daughters—coming together to cooperate. It was also powerful to see newer bonds and people who had worked together for several years moving through this fellowship together.” Take a journey through our 2024-2025 fellowship below! 

The Journey Begins

Rooted in Sankofa and guided by purpose, Cohort 8 didn’t just show up to learn. They came to build. Over seven months, we grew into a community of learners, dreamers, and doers. It wasn’t about consuming knowledge. It was about living into the legacy of Black cooperative power, honoring the past to create a freer future. 

Nkuli explains, “There is a deep Black cooperative history that flows through your work. From washerwomen unions and mutual aid societies to the Underground Railroad and the Freedom Farm, this fellowship stands on the shoulders of Black women who built what they needed to survive and thrive.” 

Session One: Honoring Black Cooperative Memory

We kicked things off with stories, food, music, and connection. Places like Greenwood weren’t treated like distant history; they were real and alive in the room. We grounded ourselves in the truth that Black brilliance and self-determination have always been here. Dreaming together was the first radical step. “We were reminded that Black women have always been at the heart of liberation—not just resisting systems, but creating new ones in their place,” Nkuli says. 

Session Two: What is Black Wealth?

We expanded the definition of wealth beyond money to include care, ancestry, connection, and love. Grounded in Black feminist thought, we looked to foremothers like Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Harriet Tubman, and Ida B. Wells not just as icons, but as everyday teachers whose lessons still guide us. 

Session Three: Naming Harm and Building Alternatives

We named the systems that harm us: capitalism, scarcity, control. We also looked at how even nonprofit spaces can replicate those patterns. But the focus wasn’t just critique. We moved into imagining and building alternatives like mutual aid, land trusts, and worker-owned businesses rooted in care and trust. 

Black Study Session: Solidarity Economy and Kwanzaa

North Star’s Black Study Sessions are Black-centered spaces open to all, where we dive deeper into topics related to Black cooperative work. Our December session featured Ebony Gustave with Art.coop and Kenna Cottman and Jayanthi Rajasa with Voice of Culture—two alumni from North Star Cohort 6!

“During the session, Ebony invited us to reflect on how the solidarity economy shows up in our ancestry, shared how Black communities are meeting their needs in the solidarity economy, and encouraged us to consider how we can put Ujamaa, the fourth principle of Kwanzaa representing cooperative economics, into practice,” Leanna explains.

“These were powerful examples that invited us to reflect on our lineages, honor how Black communities practice the solidarity economy, and invite us to practice cooperative economics in our lives and with our communities. Kenna and Jayanthi also reviewed the Nguzo Saba (the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa), and helped us reflect on how we can utilize the principles as a daily practice. It was a necessary reminder to return to and practice these values.”

Sessions Four & Five: From Vision to Structure

These sessions were about grounding our ideas in real infrastructure. We explored governance, consensus, democratic decision-making, and back-end systems—not as boring logistics, but as ways to practice dignity, shared power, and collective care. Structure became a container for imagination. 

“We were reminded that structure doesn’t have to be rigid,” Nkuli reflects. “It can be a vessel for our values: a space where dignity, imagination, and collective care thrive.” 

Session Six: Learning from the Diaspora

We zoomed out to look at Black cooperatives in Ghana, Tanzania, Jamaica, and the U.S. These weren’t just inspiring stories—they were reminders that across the diaspora, we’ve always known how to build together. It felt like reconnecting with something ancient and still very much alive. 

Session Seven: Funding the Future

We explored how to move money in ways that reflect our values of justice, community, and care. From grants and loans to presales and bartering, we talked through creative and grounded ways to fund our work that feel aligned and liberatory. 

Session Eight: Legal Tools for Liberation

Legal frameworks weren’t treated as barriers. They were tools we can shape. We explored bylaws rooted in equity and shared power. We also talked about restorative justice and conflict transformation as necessary parts of community. Liberation lives in the details, too. 

Black Study Session: Self-care and Community Care

Our second Black Study Session was all about coming back to ourselves, featuring Priscilla Momah with Coco Womb Wellness and Alanna Morris with I A.M. Arts and Roots and Wings Institute for Embodied Wisdoms. Through sound healing, breathwork, and somatic practice, we centered rest, softness, and pleasure not as an afterthought, but as strategy. Boundaries were honored and healing was held as essential. 

“It reminded me of the importance of taking care of our bodies, minds, and spirits individually and collectively and how embodied practices can support us in our cooperative work,” Leanna says. “The sound bath and guided meditation Priscilla facilitated was dynamic and restorative. The sounds of the singing bowls and instruments Priscilla played washed over me in unexpected and impactful ways. Alanna rooted us in the values of Black Light Research, a methodology for ritualized living and performance practice, and guided us in embodied practices that connected us to the power of movement. She invited us to reflect on what we are giving and receiving and shared powerful takeaways that we could continue to explore and move through.”  

Final Presentations: Seeds Planted in Community

These weren’t just presentations; they were offerings. We shared what we’d been building with love and intention. It felt like a beginning more than an ending—an invitation to keep going together.

The Legacy of Cohort 8

We’re leaving the program with tools, relationships, and deep vision. But more than that, we’re carrying forward a legacy of Black cooperation. Not just to preserve it, but to grow it. What we built here is just the beginning. 

Thank you for letting us walk beside you. Thank you for trusting us with your visions. The work you are doing is nothing short of liberation work and we remain excited and energized for all to come!

In North Minneapolis’ historic Capri Theater, Nexus founder & CEO Repa Mekha talked Black community wealth building with McKnight Foundation President Tonya Allen and author Dr. Andre M. Perry. The conversation centered themes from Dr. Perry’s new book, Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It.

Black Power Scorecard is “a dollars-and-cents reckoning of the state of Black America and a new framework to close the power gap. Historically, Black Americans’ quest for power has been understood as an attempt to gain equal protections under the law. But power in America requires more than basic democratic freedoms. It is inextricably linked with economic influence and ownership—of one’s self, home, business, and creations.” Dr. Perry’s hope for the book is to “provide the basis for a Black agenda that isn’t solely rooted in our dying, but in our thriving.”

It was an inspiring evening of truth, vision, and possibility for what Black wealth, power, and equity can—and will—look like.

Repa reflects, “Black wealth building and power, especially generational, is as much a psychology as it is a set of financial practices and tools. It is a claiming and reclaiming of the power and potential that exist with us, and within us, and using it to see and build collectively—while at the same time disrupting barriers. Hope is what we wish to come, will is what we cause to be.”

“I very much appreciated the work that Andre M. Perry has put in front of us through his book,” Repa says. “It effectively calls on us to use what we have as the gate to getting what we want and need. It would be powerful for a group of us to gather around his work to create both collective thought and action.”

Andre Perry, Tonya Allen, and Repa Mekha converse on stage.
Photos by Molly Miles, McKnight Foundation
Dr. Perry stands on stage.
Perry’s book, Black Power Scorecard.

In March, we kicked off our 20th anniversary event series with a celebration of the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute. Now we’re gearing up for our second event—and you’re invited!  

Our next virtual gathering will highlight our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship and the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus. Mark your calendar for Community Wealth Building: Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future on June 5, 10 am – 12 pm CT on Zoom. 

Over the past 13 years, we have been carefully laying the foundation for Community Wealth Building to grow inside and outside of Nexus. Now, in a time of ever-increasing privatization and the erosion of public resources, we are poised to meet the moment. Sharing bounty and abundance is everything.  

Our Shared Ownership Center supports local worker and real estate investment cooperatives to change the face of ownership, while the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship approaches Community Wealth Building from a reparative framework rooted in Black culture.  Come learn about our work and how we envision a brighter, more cooperative future!

Guest Speakers:

  • Amoké Kubat, Yo Mama’s House Founder
  • Carl Johnson, Storehouse Grocers & Coffee Founder
  • Joe Vital, East Phillips Neighborhood Institute Interim Executive Director

Nexus Community Partners Event Registration

Sorry, this form is not available anymore.

Meet Our Speakers

Amoké Kubat

Creative culture bearer, artist, and activist Amoké Awele Kubat is a Minneapolis “Northsider for life” who has been empowering mothers and families since 1987. She uses writing and art-making to speak truth to power and to hold a position of wellness in an America sick with inequalities and inequities. Amoké’s co-op, Yo Mama’s House, is an art and healing space for mothers of all ages.

Carl Johnson

Carl Johnson is a dynamic and visionary leader serving as the Lead Pastor of Faith City Church in St. Paul, MN. He is a key figure in addressing food insecurity and fostering economic development in St. Paul. Pastor Johnson is the driving force behind Storehouse Grocers and Coffee, an innovative initiative that functions as both a grocery store and a community hub.

Joe Vital

Joe Vital is an Indigenous land defender, leader, and speaker from South Minneapolis. An enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation and a proud Mexican focused on bringing Indigeneity to the mainstream, Joe is committed to promoting the protection of Turtle Island and elevating voices of Indigenous stakeholders. He serves as the Interim Executive Director of East Phillips Neighborhood Institute.

Building Black wealth allows us to forge paths toward liberation on our terms. It’s the key to rebuilding our communities and reclaiming our right to self-determination. When we have access to an abundance of resources, we can foster collective healing, safety, care, and mutual aid.

Since 2023, the Open Road Fund has been helping create intergenerational Black wealth in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota—distributing $50,000 gifts to 300 people and counting. Recipients use these funds for projects centered around housing, education, financial well-being, healing, and economic justice.

Below, four awardees share their paths to building legacies for their families and communities.

Opening a Bookstore

“With the generous gift from the Open Road Fund, I intend to kickstart my bookstore business in Minnesota, dedicated to providing diverse literature, parenting resources, and fostering community engagement. I aim to achieve a successful and sustainable business within the first year, creating job opportunities for the local community, and promoting a culture of literacy and empowerment. I envision expanding the business’ offerings, accumulating wealth for my family, and leaving a legacy of education, representation, and financial security for the community, while continually investing in the local economy.”

Becoming Financially Stable

“My first priority is to pay off my credit cards and debts, which will allow me to increase my retirement fund contribution and make needed home improvements. I want to ensure that my home is stable and will last for decades to pass on to my son and grandchildren. I also plan to work with a trusted financial advisor to learn more about gaining financial stability, managing my income, and saving for retirement.”

Reclaiming Our Connection to the Land

“My goals are to teach Black youth how to live off the land, showing them the skills that our ancestors grew up knowing—hunting, farming, reaping the benefits of the land that they worked so hard on. I want the Black youth in my community to learn and understand about the Buffalo Soldiers and the history they still hold. I want to be able to leave my family with land and skills that they can pass on for decades. I want my kids and grandkids to have somewhere they can always call home as well as a place they can continue my legacy. I want to own a feed store as well, so locals can spend their money with me locally while creating jobs. My life, my family’s life, and the lives of the Black youth will change forever financially, mentally and physically. My life will be different because I will be the first person in my family to own land that my ancestors longed to have, and I will be able to inspire more Black people to own land and reap the benefits of the land.”

Buying a Home

“I plan to use the gift from the Open Road Fund to purchase a multifamily home. My primary goal is to provide a comfortable and affordable living space for my family as well as my sister’s family and children while she saves for her own home. This investment will not only support our families’ financial journey but also serve as an asset in my wealth-building strategy. Over the next year, I aim to identify a suitable multifamily property, secure financing, and facilitate our move. This project is not just about securing my financial future but also about providing essential support to my family.”

On Feb. 27, our friends at Ignite Business Women Investment Group hosted “The Power of Wealth-Building through Cooperatives,” an evening of networking and info sessions to celebrate Black History Month and the economic impact of cooperative investments. The event brought together cooperative experts and advisors—including Nexus’ Nonkululeko (Nkuli) Shongwe—to guide attendees through actionable strategies for forming community cooperatives and building wealth.

Nkuli reflects, “We shared some amazing stories about our work, and also the resources that are available from Northstar insured ownership center. And we were able to talk about the corporate ecosystem, especially with their cooperative in the room also presenting. It was really fun to be in community with the women from Ignite!”

Nexus Community Wealth Building Director Nkuli Shongwe (left) with members of Ignite Business Women Investment Group.
Nkuli giving a presentation to attendees.

 

Black Futures Month is “a visionary, forward-looking spin on celebrations of Blackness in February; a time to consider and celebrate our radical Black history and to dream and imagine a world in which all Black people are free.” — The Movement for Black Lives

Extracting wealth from Black people has been the foundation of the US economy, with lynching and racial terror long serving as tools to undermine the economic self-determination of Black folks. In light of this history, what does repair look like? The answer lies in cooperatives.

As we navigate the tumultuous start of 2025, we bolster ourselves in takeaways from last year’s National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda. Cohosted by Nexus and the Network for Developing Conscious Communities, the summer gathering focused on:

  • Building Collective Power – Creating a space for Black-led cooperatives to connect, strategize, and align efforts for economic self-determination.
  • Sharing Knowledge & Resources – Highlighting successful cooperative models, discussing challenges, and providing tools to support Black cooperative development.
  • Policy & Advocacy – Identifying policies that support Black cooperative businesses and pushing for systemic changes that advance economic justice.
  • Celebrating Black Cooperative Leadership – Uplifting the historical and present contributions of Black cooperators in building sustainable economies.
  • Strengthening Networks – Fostering relationships among cooperatives, funders, and movement organizations to sustain long-term collaboration.

Among Nexus’ attendees were conference organizers and facilitators Nonkululeko (Nkuli) Shongwe, Director of Community Wealth Building; Leanna Browne, North Star Program Manager; and Christina Nicholson, Cooperative Developer for the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus.

“We had a great location in Union Depot,” Christina recalls. “It was walkable from hotels, the speakers were great, Mayor Carter and his team were warm and available, and there were a lot of really good workshops.”

Leanna adds, “It was really great to be surrounded by beautiful Black folks doing amazing Black cooperative work.”

“What inspired me most was seeing firsthand how cooperatives aren’t just businesses, but spaces of cultural and political resistance,” Nkuli says. “It’s about more than just economic exchange—it’s about shifting our relationships with each other and with the land, and imagining a world where we can live with dignity, freedom, and equality. By embracing the cooperative model, we tap into our collective power, building a future rooted in cooperation, justice, and liberation.”

Grounding in History

The role of cooperatives in racial and economic justice, Nkuli explains, must be understood in the context of colonialism—both its historical foundations and its continued presence through exploitation in the diaspora today. The extraction of Black labor and resources did not end with slavery; it evolved through wage theft, debt traps, land dispossession, and the systematic devaluation of Black workers and entrepreneurs. Global racial capitalism continues to siphon wealth from the Global South while using the labor of Black and Brown communities in the diaspora to sustain economies built on our oppression.

Cooperatives disrupt this ongoing colonial extraction by reclaiming ownership over our labor, land, and financial systems. They create spaces where Black people can practice self-governance, build leadership, and develop economic strategies that prioritize collective well-being over individual gain. They allow us to experiment with new ways of organizing resources that are rooted in our traditions of mutual aid and solidarity. For example:

  • Worker-owned cooperatives ensure that people doing the labor also share in the profits, eliminating the racial wage gap and creating dignified, sustainable employment.
  • Housing cooperatives fight displacement and gentrification by allowing Black people to own and control land collectively, keeping homes affordable and rooted in the community.
  • Investment and financial cooperatives give us access to capital on our own terms, reducing dependence on predatory banks and lending institutions that have historically denied us wealth-building opportunities.

Cooperatives are also a form of reparative justice. They allow us to rebuild what was taken—whether through stolen labor, redlining, land dispossession, or other systemic barriers—and create structures where wealth stays within our communities instead of being extracted. By growing and strengthening cooperative ecosystems, we are not just resisting oppression but actively building the future we deserve.

At the conference, Leanna moderated the panel Fostering Creativity: Artists Cooperatives and Collective Movements. “I set the space by providing some historical context of where we have seen artist cooperatives and collective movements, such as the Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts Movement, Combahee River Collective and Freedom Quilting Bee,” Leanna says. “I began the session by reading the poem “Paul Robeson” by Gwendolyn Brooks, which ends with:

we are each other’s harvest
we are each other’s business
we are each other’s magnitude and bond.

Envisioning Our Future

“I see a future where Black-led cooperatives are thriving, interconnected, and deeply rooted in our cultural traditions of collective care and shared prosperity,” Nkuli says. “I want to see more cooperatives that go beyond survival and actually create lasting wealth. Land trusts that secure housing, worker-owned businesses that provide dignified jobs, and investment cooperatives that allow us to collectively control capital. I envision a strong cooperative ecosystem where Black co-ops are resourced, supported, and protected by policies that recognize our historical exclusion from traditional economic opportunities. This means shifting the narrative from co-ops being a niche or temporary solution to them being a powerful and scalable model for self-determination.”

Christina adds, “My vision is a breadth and depth of interdependent economic communities that provide credit unions, housing, grocers, gardens, technology, jobs, commerce, and childcare in wholistic healthy settings that are gentle, loving, and free.”

Nkuli sees cooperatives helping us reclaim our power, define our own futures, and build economies that reflect our values, free from the constraints of oppressive systems. “Ultimately, my vision is about sovereignty. I want Black communities to own our futures, build intergenerational wealth, and create economic models that reflect our values of mutual aid, solidarity, and abundance on a global scale.”

Nexus is proud to provide programming and funding designed by and for the Black community year-round. Through programs like our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship, we’ve been able to bring worker-owners of Black-led cooperatives together to live into a future of Black wealth.

Through programs like our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship and the Open Road Fund, Nexus Community Partners is reimagining Black wealth.

Building Black wealth means healing from over five centuries of labor and livelihood stolen from us on this stolen land. It’s owning what we produce and building and inventing for our families and community. It is a creative and sovereign practice of restoration that reaffirms the excellence that has always been in us.

Meet Amoké Kubat

Artist, writer, and Yoruba Priestess Amoké Awele Kubat is a Minneapolis “Northsider for life” who has been empowering mothers and families since 1987.

Amoké first heard about Nexus in 2011 through a friend who was being mentored by Nexus CEO Repa Mekha. Through her friend, she learned about Nexus values, strategies, and vision—all rooted in community. Seven years later, Amoké took a deep dive with us, joining our second North Star cohort.

“I was thrilled to be in the company of people who looked like me, who shared the diversity of the Black Experience as descendants of Africans. We were more than survivors. We held the roots and seeds of our Ancestors’ dreams and hopes. We were visionaries, warriors, educators, artists and more, who aspired to own businesses and cooperatives.”

Amoké’s co-op, YO MAMA’S HOUSE, INC., is an art and healing space for mothers of all ages. They empower mothers by disrupting the devaluation of women’s invisible labor and increasing recognition of the ART of Mothering. North Star helped Amoké build community with other Black cooperators while also accessing the technical assistance and funding opportunities she needed to further grow YO MAMA’S HOUSE.

In 2023, Amoké joined our Black Community Trust Fund advisory committee. As a respected Elder, she shared her wisdom in renaming the trust fund as the Open Road Fund—which comes from the English translation of Ejio Ogbe, meaning, “an open road leads to the fulfillment of destiny.”

“I firmly believe that people of African descent are NOT destined to fail. It is one’s birthright to live a long life, in good health, and live abundantly.”

Amoké’s greatest takeaway from her work with Nexus is that communities matter. “The workload is not heavy when we stand with likeminded people,” she says. “People have more power than they think they do—especially in solidarity.”

Will You Join Us?

In a time of ongoing and relentless attacks on Black life and well-being, initiatives run by and for Black folks to achieve Black liberation are essential.

Any gift you make between now and the end of the year will be doubled thanks to our friends at Voqal Partners.

  • Monthly gifts of $20 are a way to honor our 20th anniversary throughout the year.
  • $100 helps support costs for expanding our online work in Greater Minnesota.
  • $500 covers a stipend that keeps our fellowships accessible to all.

Make a donation or share your Nexus story