What can I say about Ujima?

To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

So how can we make Ujima a reality?

I say shopping local. Times are more challenging, and it’s easier to shop at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. I admit that, due to delivery and transportation issues, I do most of my shopping via Amazon. I am the first to admit that on this principle, I fail.

However, I decided to start changing my behavior and investing in my community by going to black-owned barbers, shopping once a month or two at the local farmers’ market, and researching black-owned businesses. Whatever is affordable, I will invest in, even if it is something small. We can make a difference by removing money from monopolies and companies that don’t benefit our community or the government.

Another most precious way is to invest in black and brown children. We need to invest in their education, their community, their queerness, protect them, promote natural hairstyles without shame, protect the right for youth to share their identity, be proud of their identity, not to feel as though they have to hide their radiant skin, and tell them that they are smart and have promises for a productive and fantastic future. Invest in state and HBCUs, mentor students from the pulpits, and more. Youth are the future of making this world better. We shouldn’t make them feel as though they are wrong, a burden, and another statistic of their environment. I stand by every black, brown, queer, intelligent, quirky, and expressive child, teen, and young adult. I stand by every youth in foster care of color, the undocumented, the homeless, and even youth incarcerated. First of all, we should not be incarcerating children; we need to invest in quality social workers and promote healing, self-confidence, self-preservation, and self-respect. We do not need to penalize them and teach them to be healthy adults. A part of that is hiring different people who are queer, trans, of color, intelligent, and practicing natural healing methods such as yoga, as well as promoting a healthy diet. Young lives will be changed if we invest in them.

I also want to say that let’s not forget older people and those who are aging. The homeless. The mentally ill. The physically disabled. These black and brown people are a part of our community and should not be marginalized and treated with disgrace. We are not different in our rights to have a good quality of life.

Ujamaa is more than money; it’s investments made into the souls of God’s creation. Lastly, let’s not forget to give back to the earth, which is rich in color, black, and brown. This year, try planting more flowers and trees. We are killing and taking away from our planet without remembering reciprocity.

This is UJIMA.