We talked with Adrionna Fike, a marketer serving Black farmers and former worker/owner of Mandela Grocery Cooperative, and Jameelah Lane, CEO of Melan-AID and cofounder/ worker owner of the DEEP, about the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives and the REAL People’s Fund 3 Part Build Better series! Learn more about the power of small businesses, the needs of our local small business community, and more!
“…if you’re networking with folks, I see networking as a form of organizing.… When I think about politics and organizing, I actually was fearful I never knew politics had any part of my business so for me to be able to be in a space where I’m learning new language and also around professionals that know what it takes to get our voice heard made me feel very comfortable.” -Jameelah Lane
“Something that I enjoyed the most about this process was doing street outreach and going to different high density small business neighborhoods and meeting workers and business owners and asking them questions about their needs and letting them know about the three part series coming up. Without a doubt, everyone was overwhelmingly enthusiastic about yes we need this, thank y’all so much. I haven’t had anyone come to my business and ask me how we are doing… and some people showed up!” -Adrionna Fike