Heather Lazickas

The purpose of this session with ERACCE is to provide an introductory process for participants to explore and deepen their understanding of systemic racism and to begin to investigate ways to more effectively dismantle and eliminate racism within food co-ops and the broader food system. ERACCE exists to eliminate structural racism and create a network of equitable Antiracist institutions and communities. Join us to explore common language, definitions, and tools to understand the continuing issue of racism throughout the United States.

This dual-part closing plenary will feature both a Q+A session on lessons learned as well as small group discussion sharing insights across co-op stages.

We got everything we need to make a Black-Led co-op future possible. In groups, attendees will share of that knowledge, brainstorm, and collaborate in a working session.

Feel free to bring information on a co-op event you’re hosting, a roadblock you’re facing, or a recent success to co-create solutions with those at your table.

Black-led Day is a space for us, by us—where Black food cooperators gather in strength, vision, and truth. In the spirit of collective care and liberation, this session honors the real and often unseen weight we carry—burnout and compassion fatigue. The pandemic, racism, misogynoir, capitalism and white supremacy culture has only magnified these burdens, yet we are more than our exhaustion. Together, we’ll move beyond naming the problem toward reclaiming wellness on our own terms. This session will offer space for reflection, tools for restoration, and tangible practices for sustaining ourselves and each other in our co-ops, our homes, and our communities. By shifting from surviving to thriving, this session helps participants imagine a future where Black-led co-ops are not just economically viable but also emotionally nourishing and sustainable—an act of radical care and resistance to grind culture. This session emphasizes that rest, care, and boundaries are not luxuries—they are strategies for building lasting, Black-led cooperative futures.

Grounded in an analysis of the 4th wave of coop development, we demonstrate the historical conditions for previous iterations of Black-led coops, and discuss the conditions for coop creation today. How do we utilize the learnings in the past waves, and this current one to create the culture and pathways to ground us in this work sustainability? The larger thesis we will build towards is that Black coops develop for fundamentally distinct reasons from white led coops, and therefore, need distinct and specific ways of organizing and support systems. We will work with participants to co-create our own 7 principles of coop development.

This interactive follow-up session builds on the foundational insights from Part One (at BLD 2024) by shifting the focus from awareness to action. With an emphasis on co-creating solutions, attendees will explore a range of restorative practices and organizational strategies that help individuals and collectives move beyond burnout and into sustained, thriving leadership.

Drawing on culturally rooted healing traditions, mental wellness frameworks, and cooperative values, this workshop will guide participants through practical tools to recognize early signs of compassion fatigue, implement recovery practices, and re-center their purpose. Together, we will build personalized “Co-op Care Plans” that include rest strategies, boundary-setting techniques, debrief rituals, affirming peer support models, and systems for shared leadership.

Participants will also review organizational culture and policies through a lens of emotional sustainability. Case studies and co-facilitated breakout exercises will surface real-world methods used by other Black-led cooperatives and grassroots networks. Attendees will co-create a “Black Co-Op Wellness Toolkit” that can be brought back and tailored to their teams and communities.

This session invites attendees to imagine and build future-forward co-op ecosystems where emotional resilience is not an afterthought but a core design principle. Black-led cooperatives deserve wellness infrastructures that honor our labor, center our joy, and protect our leaders. This workshop is about making that future now.

Ready to transform the way you communicate? This dynamic and interactive session blends real-world scenarios with engaging discussion and role-play to help you become a stronger listener, more impactful speaker, and confident leader. Learn how to navigate “disrespectful” conversations with clarity, communicate across differences, and show up fully whether you’re serving your community, growing personally, or leading an organization. Walk away with tools you can use immediately to be heard and to truly hear others.

This session equips Black leaders, advocates, and community builders with the communication tools needed to lead with clarity, compassion, and accountability. By exploring how we listen, respond, and repair in difficult conversations, this workshop helps us co-create spaces where Black voices are not only heard—but honored and centered. It affirms that the future we’re building is one where communication is not a barrier, but a bridge to justice, collective healing, and sustainable leadership within our communities.