Omar Freilla is co-founder and steering committee member of Collective Diaspora, a global community of Black cooperatives & Black-led cooperative support organizations. 

Omar is a serial trailblazer, social entrepreneur, and movement builder dedicated to community self-determination and regenerative economies.

Drawing from his experiences growing up in the South Bronx and witnessing struggles for community empowerment, he has dedicated himself to creating just and regenerative economic systems.

This interview opened my eyes to the potential of new worker-led economic models for historically marginalized and economically exploited communities. It also made me re-evaluate the privileges I’ve experienced.

What We Discuss

What we discuss 

00:00 Intro 

02:50 Who is Omar?

03:50 Who or what made him? 

06:50 The impact of Neoliberalism on marginalized Communities 

08:50 A defining memory that affected his life direction 

17:50 Nature or nurture impact on his development 

21:30 Early activism against apartheid

25:20 Early ambitions 

27:30 Becoming environmentally conscious 

30:50 Activism triggered by the Rodney King beating 

34:35 Seeking out new economic alternatives in Cooperatives

40:50 The lack of Venture funding for cooperatives

43:40 Creating new Benchmarks for Return on Investment

45:10 What Omar is working to achieve with Collective Diaspora

49:45 Forming a Cooperative Business 

54:00 Becoming a Fellow of Echoing Green 

1:00:30 Imperative for Black and Latin Cooperatives  

1:07:54 Omar’s ambitions for 2030 

1:10:00 Raising funding 

1:16:00 How to become part of the Collective Diaspora 

1:18:00 Remaining resolute 

1:19:45 Omar’s gifts 

1:20:40 What he’s complimented for

1:22:00 Omar’s advice for anyone wanting to support 

Social Links 

Linkedin 

Twitter 

Collective Diaspora

Links 

The Bronx 

Black Panther party

Young Lords 

Green Worker Cooperatives

U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives,

Marcus Garvey 

Malcolm X 

Seed Commons 

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