Buffalo's Cooperative History
Buffalo has a rich history of cooperative businesses and movements, especially in the city's Black community. The Citizens Cooperative Society of Buffalo began in 1928 to address the ongoing economic and social crisis for Black Americans. It continued under various names, including the Buffalo Cooperative Economic Society, until 1961, and included a consumer-owned grocery store, a credit union, and an educational campaign.
Below is a video by Leanna Zilles, a 2020 Cornell High Road Fellow, who worked with us to study the history of Black cooperatives in Buffalo and the important role that cooperatives have played in national and global moments of economic crisis and systemic economic exclusion.

Read Worker Cooperatives & Economic Cooperation as a Response to Crisis published with images (PDF)
Leanna Zilles, 2020
Read Worker Cooperatives & Economic Cooperation as a Response to Crisis white paper (PDF)
Leanna Zilles, 2020
Additional Resources
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Buffalo Cooperative Economic Society [1928-1961] Buffalo State Monroe Fordham Regional History Center Digital Collections
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The Buffalo Cooperative Economic Society, Inc., 1928-1961; A Black Self-Help Organization: A Brief History and Introduction; 1975, Monroe Fordham, Buffalo State Monroe Fordham Regional History Center Digital Collections