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.
Today’s reflection on Ujamaa comes from P4L’s Finance Director, Lesley Hairston.
Ujamaa reminds us that we are the greatest source of support for our neighbors, family & friends. We survive and thrive together! Living under capitalism is not easy and often intentionally pushes us to only look out for self. But Ujamaa says that I look out for you, not so that you owe me something, but like Bill Withers sang – “it won’t be long til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on. I’ll be there for you just like you’ll be there for me”.
Through Cooperative Economics, we stay tapped into opportunities for each other. And when we raise up each other’s names and send goodness to each other, that goodness flows back to us and spills over to those around us.
It’s important to take a look at where we spend our money and how our spending impacts our communities, at both the local and global levels. It’s hard to avoid the reality of our fellow humans living under apartheid and genocide in Gaza. Cooperative Economics and the struggle for our own liberation calls upon us to be intentional about which regimes and individuals receive our money.
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Movement, inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, coordinates strategic boycotts to press for an end to the dehumanization of the Palestinian people. They provide great resources for researching which major corporations you might want to stop spending with.
As always, support your local florist when buying your bouquets this season. Hire the wedding planner you’ve known for years, instead of outsourcing to a major firm with no ties to your community. The closer to home you spend your money, the more understanding you have of how funds are spent and the more accountable the businesses are likely to be to you.
This Ujamaa, as a family talk about your spending as a family or community. Where is one area you can all commit to shifting your spending to have an impact on your local or global community? What’s the first step to making that shift?
Reflect on the following:
- Which companies and regimes are moving in a way that I feel is hurtful?
- Which companies have written and published positions that align with my principles?
- Who in my community has been the biggest supporters of my goals? How have I paid that support forward?
- How have I traded and bartered with my community, without using cash money?
- One example could look like: Cutting my brother’s grass in exchange for him braiding my hair.
- What kind of skills or products that I need to buy are available from people in my community?
- If I am missing the kind of supportive, interdependent community I want, how can I take the first step to creating that community?