UJIMAA: collective work and responsibility
“To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together”
Who is “our community” in 2025? Who ARE “our brothers and sisters”?
I pondered this question through a five minute meditation:
https://www.podbean.com/ei/pb-mfx9x-1a02b60
Almost 60 years deep into KWANZAA, we are just starting to move closer to “ALL Black people” as community and as brothers and sisters.
Here’s a link to the 30 min YouTube video referenced:
AND MY CLIFF NOTES ON THE VIDEO (for those who don't have the time to watch):
--”African Blacks vs. U.S. Blacks” longstanding and DEEP divides (reference Asegai/ Beneatha/Walter Lee interactions in “A Raisin in the Sun”: https://youtu.be/94LYcQ6oz74 1st 18 min of Act 1 Scene 2)
--Africans are only shown negative stereotypes of African-Americans through media (as white supremacy culture has “exported stenotypes” about us to the entire world)
--Black U.S. born Americans are the GROUP THAT FOUGHT FOR IMMIGRATION RIGHTS for Black Africans
-- Africans come to US and are told they “are not Black enough”
--Loyalties of Africans coming to US are: to other IMMIGRANTS/ to fellow Nationals/ to members of OWN ETHNIC GROUP. They don’t pre-select for “Black” as connecting identity.
-- new African immigrants to the U.S. will align with dominant WHITE AMERICAN KKKULTURE (tend to have most in common w/ S. Baptist conservatives 😵💫)for upward mobility
--Painful example in video of conversation between new Black African immigrant and an established Black African immigrant (who’s lost his accent) hugely anti-black American and homophobic (at 10:20 in video)
--example of banks favoring any immigrant with an African passport OVER African-Americans for bank loans
--Do Africans still see white men as gods (George Floyd/BLM moment was a pivotal moment in correcting that impression)?
--New African immigrants to US say “why are all these black Americans complaining? They have food; they had EBT cards!”
--White churches often support Black African immigrants, and are nicer to Africans than they are to African-Americans
On December 26, my contemplation of “UMOJA” left me aware that The unity I would most benefit from this year would be unifying my parts using IFS (Internal family systems).
On December 27, my contemplation of “KUJICHAGULIA” had me warning women away from allopathic gynecology and towards SELF-DETERMINATION for wellness
On December 28, my contemplation of “UJIMAA” became a cautionary tale examining connections that are assumed; but may in reality need serious cultivation.
And Caribbean Blacks--Pre-and post Windrush, with respect to who diaspora-ed to Canada or the UK and who came to the US--are yet a third category of anti-Black American worldviews, shaped by The American Dream, white supremacy and internalized oppression.
When will “Our community” expand to People of the Global Majority?
Maybe when our history gets corrected enough to acknowledge (as the first speaker in the YouTube video did not) that Dr. King was deeply inspired by a brown man: Mahatma Gandhi.
How does this topic touch you (if at all…)?