In the 1920s racist white entrepreneurs undermined black business development in a number of ways and prospered from discriminating against African-Americans. In response African-Americans turned to cooperative and credit unions as strategy for economic independence, especially in small rural communities. As a result noted African-Americans championed cooperatives like the National Federation of Colored Farmers (NFCF) founded in 1922. At its zenith, it had subsidiaries in 12 US states.