​Jessica Gordon Nembhard is a Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College of the City University of New York. She has researched the long story of cooperative Black business ownership, intentional communities and mutual aid throughout U.S. history. As in so much of African American struggles, Black women have played a leading role. She is the author of Collective Courage which chronicles the development of cooperative institutions and practices among African-Americans.

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