Habari Gani! - "What's the news?"
Ujima - (oo-Gee- muh) - Collective Work and Responsibility
On the third day of Kwanzaa, the Nguzo Saba is Ujima!
We are called to work together to build what my friend Sheila Arnold calls "the beloved community".
If we want our communities to be stronger, safer, and more welcoming, we must work together to achieve that.
In the year 2020, there were many ways to show Ujima
- Did you wear your mask?
- Did you self isolate when necessary?
- Did you keep your physical distance whenever possible in public?
- Did you work to reduce mixing your household with others?
Working together cooperatively to staunch the spread of COVID is an act of Ujima that saved many lives.
Oh yes, and the big thing I and many other Americans did this year was vote! VOTING is also a part of Ujima. Standing up to be counted - no matter who you vote for - is part of building our community.
This has been a year of standing up and being counted. We have had marches for justice and an overwhelming response to police violence and systemic racism.
Many of these peaceful marches were marred by people who were not practicing Ujima and sought to cause chaos, damage, or harm.
It is always up to each of us to stand up and stand against those forces that would tear our families, neighborhoods, communities, regions, states, and country apart.
(Some people wonder why I am such an outspoken advocate for peace and justice - this is part of it)
The organization I helped co-found has a weekly meeting on Monday afternoons for performers who are interested in discussing our artform, learning new strategies, and working through our concerns as well as celebrating our triumphs. If you want to know more about Artists Standing Strong Together - ASST for short - click the link.
If you are a storyteller who is struggling financially, please click here. ASST has a fund that provides grants if you are having trouble with necessities like rent, medicine, food, or any other urgent need.
So, how did you live Ujima this year?
A quick story -
In the 1950s my mother was living with my great grandparents in a black neighborhood called The Bottoms. Every year when there was to be a vote, some of the white men would come into the black neighborhoods and break their windows, burn crosses on their lawns, and do random damage.
They did this because in Texas there was a poll tax. Poor black families would have to choose between paying the tax or using their money to repair the damage done to their property before winter came.
The black people called these acts of violence the white riots.
Some black families were so scared of this intimidation tactic, that they wouldn't dare go near a polling place. What if they were recognized and something even worse happened to them?
The families on my great grandparent's street decided they'd had enough, and one year, they banded together to stand against the rioters.
Despite being afraid that there would be dire consequences that might include lynching, the men and women of Kent Street stood together and prevented the white rioters from coming into their neighborhood.
They were successful.
That was the last year the white riots were held.
We are all responsible for building stronger, safer communities. One person alone can only do so much.
The job of uplifting our neighbors, keeping those we love safe, and choosing hope, possibilities, and opportunities over hatred, violence, and systemic oppression falls to us, the citizens. We have the power to change the world if we work together.
Happy Kwanzaa!
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| This explains how to celebrate Kwanzaa |
