Habari Gani? Ujamaa!
Today, on the fourth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) which is to build & maintain our own stores, shops, & other businesses & to profit from them together.
Ujamaa reminds us that when we support and buy Black, we all win! Support can look like shopping, donating, volunteering, sharing or pooling resources, knowledge or goods that uplift Black businesses, artists, creators, and families.
At Parenting for Liberation, we practice Ujamaa year-round by supporting Black businesses for our gatherings, events and curated care boxes. From the food, photography, and venue, we commit to #ShopBlack.
This Ujamaa, we invite you to support your favorite Black-owned businesses, as well as Black-led organizations movement spaces. And of course, think of us when you give 🙂
Check out today’s reflection and activity on Ujamaa from our Finance Coordinator, Lesley.
The principle of cooperative economics is about shared responsibility for our collective survival and well being. Recycling our money with other people in our community allows all of us a better chance to pay our bills, buy food, cover the rent, and spend money on clothes, entertainment, or whatever else we need to feel good and live a full life.
Cooperative economics is about more than just spending money with our favorite black-owned businesses though. In fact, I’m sure you and your family already practice one key use of cooperative economics for collective survival, pooling our money to save on the things we buy.
Most of us already share Netflix, Amazon, and HULU passwords. That’s just one way of pooling our money, many Black folks have formed cooperatives to pool money for buying clubs and for investments. For whatever you need, there’s a way to work with those around you to get a better deal.
We invite you to think about the ways you already engage in cooperative economics and then think about how you can expand that just a little more to benefit yourselves and your neighbors.
-Lesley
Reflect:
What are ways that you already participate in cooperative economics?
What are ways you can contribute to circulating money within the Black community?
Activity:
Create a 15-30 second video advertisement for social media promoting your favorite community-owned/led company, organization, or buying club. Have fun and make it as creative or keep it as simple as you’d like. Upload it to IG and make sure to use our hashtag! #P4LKwanzaa