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The Cooperate Asbury group is hosting a talk and conversation about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s economic beliefs and the concept of participatory economics on January 27 at Trinity Church.

Cooperate Asbury is led by a local group of activists dedicated to the creation of community-owned cooperative businesses, affordable housing, and people-powered direct democracies.

Muata Greene and Derek Minno Bloom (left to right in photo above) from Cooperate Asbury will be the speakers and facilitators of the event. Trinity Church is located at 503 Asbury Avenue. The event will take place from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. All are welcome to participate.

“King stated in his 1952 letter to his love Coretta Scott ‘I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic,'” said Greene.  “He also believed the only solution to Americas crisis of poverty was the redistribution of wealth. The above is the true essence of Martin Luther King Jr. ideology.”

“Toward the end of Martin Luther King Jr’s life he questioned capitalism,” said Minno Bloom. “He questioned a system that spends more money on military spending than school spending and he also talked about economic disparity along class and race lines.”

“I believe that participatory economics — a popular and directly democratic economic system — would be part of King’s dream,” Minno Bloom said. “The beauty about participatory economics is that all people can choose to be part of it and share their work, resources and life together, unlike capitalism and state communism, which is forced upon people whether they want it or not. “

Cooperate Asbury’s ten point program is listed below:

Mission

1.Cooperate Asbury will channel the community’s collective power economically and politically. We strongly support racial, gender, ability, sexuality, and feminist and environmental justice. We also recognize that we are on the ancestral homeland of the Lenni Lenape and we long to see all oppressed groups working together for collective liberation.

2. We want to create community-owned cooperative businesses, affordable housing, and people-powered direct democracies. We aim to promote collaboration instead of competition in the spirit of cooperative economics and governments to share our communities’ wealth and political power. We also look to cooperate with the earth and practice Ecology.

3. All are welcome to join with Cooperate Asbury with the understanding that Cooperate Asbury looks to profit collectively, not individually. We look to build institutions that are horizontal and that deconstruct neoliberal capitalism. 

Cooperative Businesses 

4. We aim to teach Cooperative Economics and show that communities and businesses that shares their wealth and power evenly become stronger and healthier communities. We look to dismantle hierarchy and share it horizontally. Instead of bosses we will all lead the businesses together.  We no longer want to live in a world were eight people control half the world’s wealth.

5. We will create cooperative businesses that are worker-run. These businesses are owned by some or all of the workers. Depending on the start-up capital needed, they can offer workers a chance to own part of their own company with very little financial investment. This makes worker co-ops an ideal structure for people of modest or low incomes. 

6. Members of Cooperate Asbury’s business coops have decision/consensus making power. After three to six months of membership in Corporate Asbury, one is able to become part of the consensus process. 

7. Cooperate Asbury Members can join through sweat equity(work to own), by financial investment or both. We also are interested to find ways for people who are low on money and time to become part of the cooperative. 

Cooperative Politics

8. Our vision is to build power through organizing horizontal community neighborhood councils/assemblies in our city to make sure people’s voice and power is heard. In time we look to create a network of justice candidates. 

9.We will organize community assemblies to create direct democracies. It is imperative that 90 % of our city participate in the decisions that directly affect their lives. In these people assemblies any community member can participate and help come to consensus(vote) on important community issues. The decisions made during the assemblies will be brought to the city. In the future we look to also be connected to other movements around the world and country that are organizing for direct democracy and to create broad-based solidarity economies and governments. 

10. We will give leadership trainings to all ages in the organizing tradition of  Ella Baker — From grassroots up, Creating a leaderful movement. We see this as a way to empower and fight recidivism in Asbury. 

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