By grace, I am Co-Executive Director of CO-OP Dayton, a cooperative economic development organization. Through the cultivation of intentional, deep relationships with primarily Black and working class communities, we focus on developing community-led and -owned co-ops to address needs in our community by an asset-based community development approach.
Black babies in Montgomery County are born too early and too small — factors that contribute to dying before their first birthdays at a rate twice that of white babies. We are currently supporting T.R.I.B.E., a Black-led perinatal care co-op, to address Dayton’s racially-stratified infant mortality crisis, with attention to mothers’ trauma and resilience.
West Dayton had 40,000 residents and no full-service grocery store, so we walked with the community to open the Gem City Market, a full-service grocery, to increase access to fresh…
