A group of WDN members in Atlanta recently joined members of WDN’s Beyond Capitalism Peer Community for a site tour of The Guild. The Guild, a WDN grantee, is a worker-owned cooperative that is transforming real estate into a tool for stabilization, self-determination, and racial justice for Black and other communities of color.
The group toured three of The Guild’s properties being developed in the Capitol View and West End neighborhoods. Once thriving predominantly Black communities, these neighborhoods have been impacted by rapid development and “buy and hold” real estate purchases. The Guild is working at a variety of intersections to keep community ownership at the center of community development. They shared about their key initiatives:
- Community Stewardship Trust (CST) – Gives local residents the opportunity to co-own community spaces like grocery stores and childcare centers, stabilizing resources in these neighborhoods and reducing displacement.
- People’s Community Land Trust (PCLT) – Removes homes from the speculative market to create permanently affordable housing for under-resourced Atlantans.
- Groundcover Fund – This is a solidarity investment fund that directs reparative capital into cooperative and community-ownership models.
Members toured a grocery store space that will be partially supported by local farms and gardens. This store will also include three fully-equipped spaces for independently-run food businesses. Finally, members visited The MURPH (Multi-Use Radical People’s Hall), a 10,000 square foot space in the West End designed as an affordable gathering and work hub for community organizing.
Beth Levine, one of the leaders of Beyond Capitalism, said: “The most exciting part was seeing how Nikishka and her team have created innovative models that allow a solidarity economy project to survive within a capitalist framework. Every aspect of the design, economically and architecturally, is responsive to community needs because they include the community. It was beyond inspiring to see the outcomes of their efforts—affordable housing, community space, grocery store and restaurants in a food desert. I left the tour feeling hopeful and energized about the possibilities beyond capitalism.”