7 september 1968 & flashback friday: martin luther king jr food store

#OTD-ish 7 September 1968 #flashbackfriday Remembering the Martin Luther King Food Store (North Capitol & H Sts), one of a number of food co-ops with roots in the late 1960s. The co-op opened c1971.

This photograph appeared in the inaugural issue of the Community Resource Development (1424 K St, NW) newsletter published by Federal City College, Summer 1971. This was a new unit established in October 1970 to build coops and other cooperative enterprises in the city. Thornell K. Page was the director.

This was apparently the 2nd MLK Co-op. The first was in Arthur Capper Dwellings, c1969.

Your comments are welcome below. Did you, family members or neighbors shop at the co-op? Were you involved in the development of the co-op? What kind of food/items were available in the store? Do you remember any of the workers? Do you have photographs of either co-op? What did the inside of the store look like? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Courtesy Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Pride Papers. 

Johanna Bockman, “Home Rule From Below: The Cooperative Movement in Washington, DC,” Capital Dilemma, pp. 66-85. See reference to 1972 DC Gazette article.