Building Up the West Side: Cooperation is the Way

By Mavery Davis

“Cooperation is the way we build ourselves, our children and our communities into what we know they have potential to be. So why are cooperative business models important for us to apply here on the West Side?” said Ed Whitfield, the co-director of the Fund for Democratic Communities. “The short answer is that investing in worker-owned small businesses and community owned assets focused on solving the problems that meet needs unique to this community can have the effect of creating many forms of wealth that remain accessible and in the hands of the people who live here.”

Cooperative business models and mindsets may just be that self-help force we need. 

Our community’s history is important context to today’s circumstance. Charleston’s African American population began to grow in the early twentieth century, as people escaped the Jim Crow south or when coal employment in nearby areas went bust. When Black people arrived in Charleston, they clustered in certain areas of the city — not because they wanted to, but because of rigid state-endorsed segregation. The Triangle District, for example, became an entertainment and commercial center for white and Black people alike, as music, whiskey by the drink, and other temptations brought people from near and far. Black professionals and Black-owned businesses operated in the Triangle and the nearby “Block” area on Shrewsbury Street. Today, this area would be Downtown surrounding the Charleston Town Center mall and the areas near the Capitol Market. The Block was more than just a street of businesses — it was a mindset, a deep sense of community and togetherness that made The Block special and solidified the community’s foundation (Nathan Tauger, 2021). A 2019 article by Stan Bumgardner in the West Virginia Daily Mail states “Prior to the 1950s, this area was bustling with restaurants, stores and hotels — run by African Americans for African Americans…. The people who lived in The Block formed personal bonds that seem almost nonexistent in today’s technologically connected but interpersonally disconnected world.” At the same time, segregation and the broader systems of racism it upheld, held back wealth-building opportunities for Black community members. Still, Black people in Charleston pooled resources and made the best out of what was available. 

At the peak of local organizing for neighborhoods, the city, state, and federal governments demolished the Triangle District, uprooting people who had lived there for their entire lives. Some people received relocation services; some didn’t.

This lack of people-centered policies and actions stripped families and our community of decades of hard work and savings, and to date they have not been compensated for what was taken from them. While it cannot right the wrongs of the past, programs and policies that pave the way for cooperatives can empower people to meet their economic and social needs and reap the profits generated by their dedicated work and services. 

Cooperative businesses have lower failure rates than traditional corporations and small businesses. About 10 percent of cooperatives fail after the first year while 60-80 of percent of traditional businesses fail after the first year. After five years, 90 percent of cooperatives are still in business, while only 3-5 percent of traditional businesses are still operating after five years. This is often because of the many people involved in starting a cooperative and the high level of community support for cooperatives (World Council of Credit Unions study in Williams 2007).