Economic Sovereignty Publication
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Economic Sovereignty phlassembled.net #phlassembled #sovereignty 1 Introduction Introduction I 3 Introduction I Annette Medford-Griffin Introduction II 6 A bookkeeper by trade and advocate by chance, Annette Medford- Russel A.Hicks Griffin grew up in Philadelphia. Training and volunteering have been the foundation of her passion to advocate on several platforms. She Understanding Sovereignty contributed to the formation of the coalition to Save the Free Library of Philadelphia and has served as a community outreach tech with Sovereignty from A to Z 15 Onslow County Partnership for Children, as well as a guardian ad litem/ Supermarket is the Enemy 28 court-appointed special advocate, acting as the eyes and ears of family Mariposa Food Co-op court judges whose rulings determine the future of children in foster care. Currently focused on cooperative business models, Medford-Griffin Coop By-Laws 29 continues to use her voice to change the conversation. Mariposa Food Co-op 52nd Street I am thinking differently. I was We attempted to redefine the a blank canvas, but now I am a term “sovereignty”, which was A History 34 portrait of self-determination. already defined as “turning some- Tempest Carter Philadelphia Assembled sparked thing old into something new.” Voices of 52nd Street a paradigm shift in how I view Conversations around economic my very existence in Philadelphia. and food sovereignty were at the African Cultural Art Forum (ACAF), Rashid Abdul Samad 37 It embodies both the history and forefront of our discussions, and current moment of this city in I chose to focus on what I like Hakim’s Bookstore, Glenda Cook & Yvonne Blake 48 which I live. to call social justice through Urban Art Gallery, Karl Morris 52 economics. We assembled as collaborators “iBuyBlack” Discount Card, Michael Rashid 57 to envision what could take place How do we build a new economic throughout the city. There was infrastructure while resisting cur- Vender, Brother Esau 60 libation, music, food, art, net- rent oppressive systems? What is working, enlightening, and yes, our vision for an economically just 2nd Threadz, Kelly Townsend 64 sometimes differences. future? Cooperatives are my an- Tha Shop on the Strip, Christopher Anderson 69 swer. Worker-owned cooperatives The Sovereignty atmosphere is provide jobs for their members Dynamite Pest Control, Richard Foreman 73 where I met extraordinary people as well as services that cultivate from across this city exploring the economic justice. Brown Sugar, Jesse Joseph 77 space of self-help and determina- Atiya Ola’s Spirit First Foods, Atiya Ola 82 tion. Owners of land and produc- Working within this current ers of goods building a stronger economy while building one that SELF CENTERED community for the well-being is anti-oppressive and respects of all. 2 Self Centered, Charlyn Griffith 89 3 people over profit is difficult, but to plan. The 52nd Street Market- “Free your mind, for there is a way the economic revolution is upon place took place on Sunday, to build a better Philadelphia,” us. Worker solidarity and a radical June 25, 2017, as the Seeds of this is how I felt after every change in leadership are needed. Sovereignty festival to celebrate Philadelphia Assembled Cooperators must run for political the history of 52nd Street as a gathering. office so we have politicians that center for Black-owned business- share this view of a fair and just es, allowing us to draw a common In the beginning, I was clueless— marketplace. space where we buy and sell, not sure where or how I would laugh and learn, and eat and fit into this exhibition. Everyone Education is essential in build- share, with the goal of keeping had a chance to share their ideas. ing a cooperative. We need an profits local. Even I am now a muse. I begin to understanding of co-op business see the transformation in myself. models and the local economy of At the heart of this grassroots Philadelphia Assembled was more the city of Philadelphia to become get-together was the African about the process than the final better cooperators. We must Cultural Arts Forum (ACAF), work that would be displayed, encourage people to understand established in 1969 by fellow using art as a vehicle to express the benefits of being producers as Sovereignty collaborators, commonalities and differences. well as consumers of goods, and brothers Rashid Abdul Samad For me, the landscape of this city that our money should be spent and Sharif Abdur-Rahim. What an shifted after every meeting. I in our neighborhoods, doing busi- experience in community-based cannot wait to see the outcomes. economics. ACAF is a manufac- ness with those who reinvest in —Annette Medford-Griffin, turing business whose workforce our community. That is the future Philadelphia Assembled collaborator of this alternative economy. is made up of members of the community. ACAF personifies the New avenues have opened up for principles of Kwanzaa, showing me in this vibrant city, including concern for the community by the Philadelphia Area Cooperative providing educational programs Alliance (PACA). They launched for our youth, while building and a program called 20/20 Study developing a stronger community Circle, a method rooted in African through economics. According to American and Philadelphia the brothers, starting your own cooperative history to grow twen- business is about “more than a ty community-owned or worker- notion.” When we are conscious owned cooperative businesses to spend our dollars in our in the city of Philadelphia. neighborhoods and establish The Commonplace, better known businesses, thereby creating jobs, as the Marketplace, was one of we embody a model for analter- the events that the group decided native economy to capitalism. 4 5 for a good (almost) twenty years, African slave trade. We can look helping local businesses to grow at economic development in a Introduction II and create jobs. That process of historical way and conquer the small business development is things, like systemic racism, that Russell A. Hicks is a passionate business leader and educator committed fun for me. Before my time, 52nd have been, and continue to, to creating sustainable impact in communities around the world. He is the Street was the happening place hold us back if we look to that owner and CEO of Ebony Suns Enterprises, LLC, a consulting business for entertainment, culture, art, ancient principle of Sankofa to that provides program development for schools and nonprofit organiza- and business—all the entertainers solve problems. How do you solve tions as well as project management for emerging private-sector from back in the day came here. issues? How do you bring people companies in the green economy. Fast-forward to today, and 52nd together? Socially and econom- Street is still the main thoroughfare ically, there is a lot of potential in West Philadelphia. It’s second in collaborative economics, in The Sovereignty working group second goal was to have a market- to Broad Street in the whole city trading together and being fair, had a very organic process, a lot place, because, you know, it always in terms of transportation from and it’s rooted in principles that of synergy; people from different starts at the marketplace. You get north to south. It’s also an impov- allow everyone to have a sense backgrounds, origins, commu- your goods, your services, your erished area where there’s a lack of of sovereignty. Before the chains, nities, and professions coming fruits, your vegetables, your raw resources and all different issues, before corporate business models, together. In my case, I played the materials to make things – they’re ranging from redlining, lack of ac- the principles of sovereignty were role of a bridge of two worlds, all at the marketplace. We did our cess to housing, lack of access to shared and celebrated through trying to make sense of all of those marketplace in a festival fashion, start-up capital, which then leads family businesses. But you can still ideas and get them into one direc- but that was also one of the goals to difficulty developing a local retain a sense of that through your tion. That’s always a challenge, but established from these meetings, customer base. But even today, independence with your own fam- the main thing is if you have core to create a coming-together of the vendors on 52nd Street pro- ily, teaching skills, teaching trades. values and principles that you hold different minds. The third goal was duce goods and services that get And there is a spiritual context in throughout, you can accomplish to represent stories in the museum distributed outside of Philadelphia, this legacy, something you discov- your collective goals at the end of and to do so in a way that cap- so the commerce that takes place er throughout your life experience. the day. tured the history represented by on this corridor on a daily basis 52nd Street and sovereign family When we think about sovereign- The main goals were threefold. The is fascinating and ever changing. businesses in general. To do that ty, there’s really something for first was educational, going into It’s a great place to come to find in the “Sovereignty room” at the everyone in this project, including West Philadelphia communities authentic culture, and particularly museum is something we’re all the children, whether it’s teach- and teaching people about things authentic African culture. very excited about, because these ing them how to make jewelry, that they could do that were sover- stories are rich and valuable—to The principle of Sankofa has al- or printing T-shirts, and offering eign. These were things that would us, to communities, and to this city.