Category

Together, We’re Redefining Black wealth

Fred

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

Our eighth North Star cohort is in full swing! The 2024-25 North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship is participating in a few hybrid sessions this fall and spring and gathering virtually for the remaining sessions. Our 24 fellows represent 10 cooperatives, with missions focused on housing, community wealth building, solidarity and connection, life skills, empowerment, art, healing, and mental health. Get a preview below, and read more about their work here!

Branch Out and Bloom

Shanaya Dungey, Jena Holliday, Loryn Branch

Providing life skills and creative arts education for Black children and young adults in Minnesota.

BWINH Inc.

Vanessa Weathers, Jessica Sol

Building a resilient and supportive network for Black communities in New Hampshire and surrounding areas, addressing the impacts of racism, sexism, and gender discrimination.

Community Healing Services

Monica Smith, Charlotte Smith

Providing new or renovated homes in a therapeutic, cooperative community for unhoused, under-housed and historically disadvantaged individuals, veterans, and families.

Mudluk Pottery

Keegan Xavi, Sayge Carroll

Cultivating racial equity in the ceramic arts by facilitating opportunities for BIPOC ceramic artists of all skill levels.

Mutha Art’preneur Collective

Eshay Brantley, Nakara White, Eshia Taylor

Creating intersecting practices of dreaming, actualizing, and intergenerational healing where Black women can show up and be supported as their full selves.

Onyx Collective

Victoria McWane-Creek, Heather Gaston, Jacqueiline Hill

Moving with love, justness, and fairness to enable Black people to just be and support one another as we fully participate, prosper, and live into our full potential.

Our Journey Home

Cynthia Elmore, Yameika Gilleylen

Working to end homelessness in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas and to provide supportive services.

Roots and Resilience Institute

Katherine Moreno, Scarlett Gonzalez

Bridging the gap between diverse racial and cultural groups through the expertise of community-based BIPOC trainers.

WisConnect Holding Cooperative, LWCA

Briana Gipson-Fleming, Chipo Nyambuya

Supporting Black women-owned businesses via collective ownership, community wealth building, operations, and affordable retail space.

Women on Wednesday Coaching & Consulting Services

Vannesia Thomas, Akaytra Jones, Jawana Benton-Johns

Empowering and educating women and youth by fostering solidarity, inspiring growth, and increasing community engagement through holistic wellness and restorative practices.

At Nexus Community Partners, we nurture the prosperity of our communities — and in this prosperity, our health, joy, peace, love, safety and the needs of future generations come first. To dismantle the rigged rules that amass wealth and power in fewer and whiter hands, we must approach community wealth-building from a reparative framework rooted in Black culture. Economic development efforts that ignore culture are unsustainable and lead to inevitable harm. Our culture itself is a critical resource for sustainable wealth creation.

We launched the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship in 2017 to start living into a future of Black wealth: self-governance, spaces for healing, and an abundance of resources.

After six successful years, we wanted to re-engage alumni, see where they were in their journeys, and learn about the impacts of North Star and how we can continue to improve the program. We sent a survey to alumni from Cohorts 1-6 and collected responses between Sept. 12 – Oct. 10, 2023. One alumnus reflected:

“My major takeaway is that there are so many of us working for a freer and more cooperative future for our communities. We can work together and support/uplift the work each group is doing in different sectors; it all brings the collective closer to living the dream. The learning I use from North Star is cooperative-specific language and connections to people across the Twin Cities and the country doing this work.”

North Star wants to acknowledge and thank Sida Ly-Xiong, who helped us with the analysis, and the Nexus communications team, Elly Fireside-Ostergaard and Jamie Bernard, who helped create, design, and share the slide deck below.

View the Survey Results

Join our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship for a Black Study Session on the solidarity economy and Kwanzaa!

Wednesday, Dec. 4
5-7 p.m. CST
Zoom (virtual)

This Black Study Session will introduce the solidarity economy, explore connections between the solidarity economy and Kwanzaa, and engage in an observance of Kwanzaa through different practices. New Economy Coalition defines the solidarity economy as “a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth.” Kwanzaa comes from the phrase matunda ya kwanza, which means “first fruits” in Swahili. It is a Pan-African holiday celebrating Black culture.

Guest speakers will include Kenna Cottman and Jayanthi Rajasa, Voice of Culture, and Ebony Gustave, Art.coop. We invite you to bring a picture of an ancestor and an item that is meaningful to you. In addition, please consider reviewing the Nguzo Saba, which means “seven principles” in Swahili, to reflect on the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Join us for an evening to learn together and engage in shared practices in community with one another!

Black Study Sessions are free, virtual, live, and open to all while centering Black people and Black experiences. This is a Black-centered space where we will prioritize uplifting Black voices and safety.

North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship Black Study Session: Solidarity Economy and Kwanzaa

Event flyer of a kinara and ujamaa symbol.

Join the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship for a Black Study Session on the solidarity economy and Kwanzaa!


Wednesday, December 4

5:00 - 7:00 pm CST

Zoom (virtual)


This Black Study Session will introduce the solidarity economy, explore connections between the solidarity economy and Kwanzaa, and engage in an observance of Kwanzaa through different practices. New Economy Coalition defines the solidarity economy as “a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth.” Kwanzaa comes from the phrase matunda ya kwanza, which means “first fruits” in Swahili. It is a Pan-African holiday celebrating Black culture. Guest speakers for the Black Study Session include Ebony Gustave with Art.coop and Kenna Cottman and Jayanthi Rajasa with Voice of Culture. We invite you to bring a picture of an ancestor and an item that is meaningful to you. In addition, please consider reviewing the Nguzo Saba, which means “seven principles” in Swahili to reflect on the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Join us for an evening to learn together and engage in shared practices in community with one another.


Black Study Sessions are free, virtual, live, and open to all while centering Black people and Black experiences. This is a Black-centered space where we will prioritize uplifting Black voices and safety. 













Contact Information

North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship applications are open now through Sept. 8. Interested in applying? Watch our information session below, where we share a brief history of North Star, discuss fellowship requirements, provide a curriculum overview, and answer questions.

North Star is a place for Black-led cooperatives, collectives, housing, commercial and land trusts to learn and reclaim the history of Black cooperative economics. Fellows come together for seven months of co-learning, storytelling, and skill-building. We’re excited to offer a hybrid format this year, inviting applicants both in and outside of Minnesota!

Apply Now

 

Are you passionate about Black economic justice? Are you involved in a Black-led collective, cooperative, or land trust? Apply to the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship! Together, we will learn and reclaim the history of Black cooperative economics over seven months through co-learning, storytelling, and skill-building. Cohort 8 applications are open through Sept. 8, 11:59 p.m. CT.

How It Works

The North Star curriculum grounds fellows in Black cooperative economic history locally and nationally, challenges them to analyze and rethink capitalism, and supports them in building their own cooperatives, leadership skills, and networks.

As a cohort, fellows explore and receive:

  • Black feminist history: Grounding in the history of Black cooperative economics in the US + history of cooperation and Black feminisms
  • A power and landscape analysis of Minnesota cooperative and financial institutions
  • Cooperative skills and tools, like governance, decision-making structures, and conflict resolution
  • Access to alumni funds post-fellowship
  • Support in designing and creating a strategy for a cooperative economic project
  • A $1,000 stipend for participating in the fellowship
Time Commitment

October 2024 – May 2025

  • Saturdays, 10 am – 2 pm, one to two sessions per month
  • Black Study Sessions, 5 – 7 p.m., two per cohort year
  • Total time: Approximately 85-100 hours, including reflection, co-op work, and research outside of meetings

See all dates and times

It is important that our program participants have not only the passion and willingness to join North Star, but also the time and capacity to fully participate. We understand that life can be a lot of things for us, including stressful, traumatic, and isolating. Our staff work hard to cultivate a sacred Black space for cohort members to participate as fully as they can.

We’ll be kicking off Black History Month with another Black Study Session on Wednesday, February 1st, from 5-7pm on zoom. Registration link will be live soon!

Join us to learn about Black cooperatives, to meet other community members, and to learn more about community wealth building efforts, including the Black Community Trust Fund. These sessions are Black-centered, but all community members are welcome to come connect and learn. From housing collectives and social clubs to freedom farms and mutual aid, Black social, cultural, and economic solidarity IS Black History. Cooperation and collectivism live on as we fight for our liberation, and center our healing and joy.

Check out these incredible cooperators! These fellows are brilliant and imaginative and kind. You don’t want to miss them. You can get a preview below, and read all about them here.

House of Culture

Jayanthi RaJaSa, Yonci Peaceful Jameson, Kenna-Camara Cottman

House of Culture is a cooperative manifestation based in the oral tradition and griot skills that form the foundation of Voice of Culture.

A Farm Called Home

Cal Adeboye, Lane Brown, Mari Fitch, Izzy Vielman, Mo Hanson, Jai Jami, Sun Kai

A Farm Called Home invests in Black and Indigenous future farmers by providing access to land-ownership and housing stabilization through cooperative development, education and environmental stewardship.

Lupine

Olivia Nichols, Sophia Nichols, Syreeta Sevé

The mission of Lupine is to restore relationship with the land, animal, human, and plant kin in our home of Mni Sota Makoce.

The Black Prosperity Cooperative

Alicia Clerk, Chakita Lewis

Our mission is to develop a sisterhood based on mutual respect, collaboration, inclusion, and shared economic opportunity.

Cultural Crops Cooperative

Mujahid Layton, Tenille Foreman

We seek to provide sanctuary to those seeking freedom from oppressive systems by modeling our ancestral agrarian & natural lifestyles on 20 acres of land in Georgia.

Boston Black Market and Enrichment Center

Jihan Thomas

We strive to be a place where Black people can gather to ideate, share the joy of the day, and just be.

Please join us in giving our new team member, Leanna Browne, a warm welcome! Leanna is a dancer, a teaching artist, a choreographer, and a connector in community. At Nexus, she’s a program associate working on the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship. Right now, Leanna’s filling her cup through sharing space with folks and being in community.

“I’ve been thinking about how it is very easy to be isolated right now. I am thinking about how community is being cultivated. Where can people gather and be their full selves? Being a part of North Star—a Black-led and centered space—where folks are able to gather around cooperation, Black liberation, and community wealth has been really special.”

Outside of work, Leanna has been getting energy from dance. For Leanna, “dance is a way to not only be connected to your body but also to connect to others. Reconnecting with yourself and with community is powerful! I want to cultivate spaces for folks to experience that.” If you want to dance with Leanna, she has a free Umfundalai (muh-foon-duh-luh) class coming up! Learn more here.

Kai Andersen is a Gemini, Minneapolis born and raised, and chock full of thought-provoking questions. He joined Nexus in July 2021 as our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship – Research Assistant. He also is a student pursuing his Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) at the University of Minnesota.

For Kai and North Star, Black cooperation is a path to self and collective healing and transformation. As a part of The North Star Team, Kai will be helping to expand and deepen their curriculum on Black cooperative thought and practice. He will be taking a deep dive into the history and cultural lineages and legacies of Black cooperation, a journey that will span cooperation and survival after Slavery, cultural ways of living and working collectively, and present-day, formally incorporated cooperatives led by Black folks. Some people and co-ops already on his list include Fannie Lou Hamer and Freedom Farmers, Cooperation Jackson, Boston Ujima, and East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative.

Cooperatives are an economic development strategy that are particularly interesting to Kai, as an Urban Planning student. Historically, planners and their practices have harmed Black communities through extracting resources, redlining, disinvestment, Jim Crow laws and racist policies. As a Black, mixed race Urban Planner, Kai is reckoning with that history and learning about reparative planning practices that can help return those resources to Black communities. 

For Kai, shared ownership is one of the most powerful and promising solutions out there. Unlike traditional economic development, cooperation and collective ownership are paths to big structural changes. He said, “doing work with coops is really energizing because of the self-determination that is central in it. Cooperatives allow our communities to explicitly develop what we want, and that can be reparative, transformative, and healing.” 

When Black and Brown communities have ownership—of their own businesses, housing, or spaces—they are able to become powerful decision makers, protecting themselves and the interests of their neighborhoods, while also building community and intergenerational wealth. Community ownership offers an alternative to the all-too-common story: outside developers buy land and/or buildings in BIPOC neighborhoods, make decisions with little regard for the people who live there, resulting in the displacement of families, small businesses and communities. In his year with Nexus, Kai’s driven to explore “how cooperatives play a role in growing and dreaming…and in protecting our neighborhoods from displacement, gentrification, disinvestment and extraction.”

Before coming to Nexus, he worked at the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability and co-facilitated a workgroup on livability from a BIPOC, healing justice lens. Outside of work, he loves soaking in the energy of the Mississippi on river walks, enjoying herbal tea, and sharing food with people. Kai self-identifies as eclectic and renaissance-y, loving creative writing, theatre, music.

 

Did you miss our first North Star Information Session this morning? Thankfully we recorded it! Watch it below to learn about the 2021 North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship and our focus on Housing Coops and Land Trusts, and Investment Cooperatives.

You can apply here by filling out the application, or you can submit a video response with your answers to the application questions.

 

When this North Star cohort started in October, it was our first virtual cohort, our first cohort organized around collective land ownership, and our first cohort where entire cooperatives participated together. In anticipation of North Star graduation this Wednesday, we will be revisiting some of the North Star sessions, what they learned, and sharing some resources. 

Cooperatives provide a different model of ownership and wealth sharing, and in the process, we are asked to invest deeply in one another, identify and communicate our needs, and skillfully navigate conflict. At Nexus, we realize that we are all connected – what affects one person or community, affects another – and this kind of approach to decisions and conflict is one part of learning how to honor our responsibility for each other. In April, Autumn Brown joined our North Star to discuss democratic decision making and conflict resolution. 

A co-owner at AORTA, Autumn taught us about different models of democratic decision making and strategies for working through conflict. Autumn emphasized the importance of breaking down HOW decisions are made, identifying who has the final say, and thinking about if you like how it is. These considerations are key for any group of people starting a cooperative. 

A key piece of democratic decision making is navigating conflict—a natural and healthy part of people working and/or living together. Autumn talked about how to prepare and plan for conflict before it even happens, making it easier for conflict to be handled well, and be generative and healthy for the group. For example, self-evaluations of conflict styles, helping cooperative members understand how they feel about conflict, and how they like to address it, help cooperatives determine their approach to conflict before it starts. 

Conflict resolution skills are foundational in cooperatives, and in our lives, communities, and movements as well. Dealing with conflict in grounded and centered ways can be difficult, but is essential. As we fight for better futures for all of us, we must simultaneously consider how we govern ourselves—how we want to be together, how to make decisions together, how we want to deal with hurt and harm, and what accountability means to us.

Do you want to learn more about North Star? Mark your calendars for graduation this Wednesday (5/26)! Learn about our incredible fellows, and hear some of our keynote speaker Noni Session’s wisdom (East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative). Click here to RSVP.