In several American communities, former G.I.s proposed new integrated communities. Winning the war against fascism abroad created interest in building a new America at home. Among these communities were a number of housing cooperatives. The many cooperative housing communities that sprouted after the war proudly followed the Rochdale Principles, (now the International Cooperative Alliance Principles) named after the English town that launched the cooperative movement in 1844. The Rochdale Principles were a set of organizational guidelines that distinguished cooperatives from the practices of regular investor-owned corporations and spoke to issues such as one member one vote, democratic control, concern for community, and profit-sharing, not to outside investors but only among user members. The first cooperative principle is open membership, which means simply that membership is open to all (no discrimination) who wish to avail themselves of the services of the cooperative and are willing to bear the responsibilities of membership.
Interracial housing cooperatives created after World War II were specifically meant to be inclusive of families of any color whatsoever. However, the same FHA that financed hundreds of post-war white suburbs was adamantly opposed to integrated suburbs. As a result, the FHA opposed the establishment of interracial housing cooperatives.
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