Durham People's Alliance records

Founded in October 1975 by Durham and Chapel Hill progressive activists, the People’s Alliance for a Cooperative Commonwealth took its inspiration from the Populist movement of the 19 th century, whose supporters “dreamed of an eventual ‘cooperative commonwealth’ that would replace the system of ruthless competition.” At its height, the organization included chapters in Avery, Guilford, Wake, and Orange Counties, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, and Cape Fear. The organization itself is complex: in addition to the various chapters and other associated organizations (including the North Carolina Occupational Health and Safety Project), the statewide organization, a 501(c)4 led by a Steering Committee, also includes the People’s Alliance Fund, a 501(c)3 established in 1980 and led by a Board of Directors, and the People’s Alliance Political Action Committee, established in 1982. In the early 1980s, as the various statewide chapters declined in activity, the Durham chapter became the primary operating organization, turning the organization’s attention to local Durham affairs and assuming more explicit control over the activities of the Fund and the PAC. Befitting their key role in local and state politics, several People’s Alliance members, including Paul Luebke, Diane Catotti, and Frank Hyman, have served in public offices.