About this program:

"At Home in Utopia," with Michal Goldman

Featuring: Michal Goldman

Against the backdrop of an international cooperative movement, At Home in Utopia tells the story of the most militant of these apartment complexes, the United Workers Cooperative Colony, aka "the Coops." Built when the Bronx was still mostly fields and swamps, and linked to the garment factories “downtown” by the newly extended subway, the Coops was for a few years the largest cooperative “house” in America, accommodating 2,000 people, most of whom were Jews and many of whom were Communists. From its beginnings as a working-class fortress until its communal demise in the 1950s, the Coops’ story is one of American grassroots radicalism. Whether they were idealists, fighters, or party hacks, these people responded to the great ideological convulsions of their time by bringing their political passions into their courtyards and kitchens, sometimes galvanizing the entire community, and sometimes tearing it apart.

At Home in Utopia is available on Kanopy, a streaming platform that is accessible through most public libraries.