The Mississippi based North Bolivar County Cooperative (NBCC) made a part of its mission to give its members freedom from the local white oligarchy and Hamer drew inspiration from its example of ethnic pride, power, and unity. The difference being Hamer’s FFC also drew inspiration from Acts chapter 2 with its emphasis on inclusiveness and love. Hamer viewed FFC as a symbol of power for the poor. Hamer received cooperative startup consultant from NBCC for free. However, the FFC struggled from the start from poor leadership including corruption among the ranks of the leadership, a lack of understanding of and commitment to the cooperative from those who benefited from, and the lack of capital particularly reserve capital for the operation of the cooperative. These issues never had a long-term stranglehold on NBCC. The FFC charged a one dollar per month membership fee; only 30 families out of 1500 who benefited from FFC could afford the fee. Without a membership one still could obtain permission to work the land in exchange for food. Too many took the food without working.
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