As 2021 dawns, we are filled with hope and trepidation for our country. As a dangerous administration ends, a COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out, and ongoing efforts at racial justice gain traction, we can see real hope that brighter days are in our future. But the lies and hate mongering that led to the recent insurrection at our nation’s capital will have long-lasting effects that are difficult to contemplate.
Making Radical Roots, we’ve focused on the vibrant youth culture that created the natural food co-ops in the 1970s, but also wanted to know how youth are involved in co-ops today. Luckily, we know Emily Lippold Cheney, who has dedicated herself to engaging young people in cooperatives from the very local level to the biggest international stages.
One name we kept hearing and reading while doing research for Radical Roots was Kris Olsen. Kris was a dedicated co-op activist who popped up all over our story: befriending Moe Burton while helping out the Bryant-Central Co-op, being physically thrown out of Seward Co-op by the CO (they needed a bunch of guys - Kris was very tall!)...
