Harlem River Consumers Cooperative records, 1967-1973

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Summary

Creator:
Harlem River Consumers Cooperative, Inc.
Abstract:
The Harlem River Consumers Cooperative was a Black shareholder-owned cooperative society that operated a supermarket on Lennox Avenue in Harlem, N.Y., active from 1967 to around 1976. Cora T. Walker, one of the first Black women attorneys in New York, served as General Counsel. The collection includes by-laws, financial reports, meeting minutes, memos and notices to shareholders, newsletters and other printed materials. Materials discuss general organizational policies, seasonal and holiday matters, and the effects of a strike during efforts by Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union to unionize some of the cooperative's employees. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
0.1 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13017

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes by-laws, financial reports, meeting minutes, memos and notices to shareholders, newsletters and other printed materials. Materials discuss general organizational policies, seasonal and holiday matters, and disputes concerning efforts to unionize some of the cooperative's employees.

Biographical / historical:

The Harlem River Consumers Cooperative was a shareholder-owned cooperative society that operated a supermarket in the Lennox Avenue area of Harlem, N.Y. Initially the cooperative was Black-owned by 2500 Harlem residents who joined by purchasing shares for $5 each; eventually the cooperative attracted a more diverse membership and grew to around 4000 member shareholders. The cooperative was incorporated in 1967 and opened its supermarket in 1968. Soon after opening it store the cooperative was approached by Local 338, a union that represented a number of grocery store employees in New York City. The cooperative originally declined but some Board members later signed an agreement with the union that was disputed by some shareholders and the General Counsel. The union initiated a strike in 1969; the dispute led to the replacement of the Cooperative Board and a series of litigations against union organizers and leaders of a local activist group, Co-Ordinated Community Services (CSS), which were accused of various conspiracies and interlocking relationships between the union and CSS that allegedly violated the Sherman antitrust act. Litigation and appeals continued until 1976; around this time the Cooperative ceased to function.

Acquisition information:
The Harlem River Consumers Cooperative records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Caroliniana Books in 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier;

Accession described in this collection guide: 2023-0088.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Harlem River Consumers Cooperative records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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