User:JamieF/Federation of Southern Cooperatives draft

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives the United States' largest and oldest cooperative association of Black landowners, farmers, and cooperatives. The Federation works to ensure land retention. training, development, and advocacy for farmers (African American farmers in particular) while increasing income. They currently represent 75 cooperatives and community-based organizations made up of 10,000 primarily Black landowners and farmers. While primarily focused on African American farmers and landowners, The Federation also assists Indigenous, Latino, and white limited resource farmers and landowners as well.

Mission
The mission of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives is "to be a catalyst for the development of self-supporting communities through cooperative economic development, land retention, and advocacy." They work to provide technical assistance, and education, while coordinating networks of resources and partnerships to address issues faced by land owners and farmers.

History
The Federation is non-profit 501c.3 established in 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia in order to create economic development opportunities in the Southern United States for rural communities and Black farmers. Twenty-two cooperatives from 9 Southern states formed the Federation after seeing the need to advance economic autonomy and advocate for Black farmers and rural communities following the example of marketing and business cooperatives that grew out of the Civil Rights Movement. Economic cooperation has a long history in the African American community beginning during slavery as enslaved individuals worked together to learn to read, save and pool money, and garden together to provide a healthier and more varied diet for their families.

The cooperatives