Grant Highlight: Collective Courage Graphic Novel

With support from a Cooperative Education Fund grant, Jessica Gordon-Nembhard is creating a graphic novel version of her book Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. Published in 2014, the book chronicles African American cooperative business ownership and its place in the movements for Black civil rights and economic equality. In creating the graphic novel, Gordon-Nembhard, co-script writer Alee Karim and artist Ella Ward hope to make this knowledge more accessible to visual learners and younger generations.

According to Gordon-Nembhard, the graphic novel, which will be published in late 2020, will build on the popular education movement created by the original book. It will increase exposure of the cooperative model among middle and high school students and can be used in education events that highlight African American history, cooperative development, and sustainable, grassroots development.

Plans are underway to support donations of the graphic novel to youth of color in inner cities and rural areas and to incarcerated and previously incarcerated people. Gordon-Nembhard hopes to designate a portion of the sales proceeds to creating more graphic novels about cooperatives and the solidarity economy in communities of color. 

About the Cooperative Education Fund

The Cooperative Education Fund supports cooperative research, sponsors cooperative education events and scholarships, and develops cooperative education materials and programs. The Fund provides $90,000-$100,000 in grants, scholarships, and sponsorships annually. Applications for the 2020 Spring grant cycle must be submitted by May 1, 2020 by visiting cdf.coop/cooperative-education.