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#BlackPhilanthropyEdition

Be #InvestedInUjima | #UjimaWednesdays |#BlackPhilanthropyEdition | Opportunities to Listen | Alternative Currency | Ujima Time Bank | How to Invest in Ujima | Appreciations | Neighborhood Econ. Study Group | Ujima is Hiring | Membership Renewal | Jobs | Upcoming Meetings 

GRACE LEE BOGGS

TONIGHT AT 6PM: CO-OP FINANCES WITH USFWC

Our next Ujima Open Meeting is TONIGHT on Zoom – Wednesday, August 19th, from 6:00pm-8:30pm.

  • 6:00-7:15pm #CoLearning: Co-Op Finances with the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.
  • 7:15-8:30pm #CoCreation: Anchor Institutions & Investor Outreach

PLEASE RSVP. Thank you!

Time: Wednesday, July 1st, 6PM | Location: ZOOM

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#CoLearning Recap: CONFLICT RESOLUTION W. DANIEL ARRANAGA

Last Wednesday, Daniella Priesler of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops gave us an enlightening workshop on Conflict Resolution.

View the full notes and watch the workshop recording here!

#BlackPhilanthropyEdition

This year, you likely cooked a meal for friends or family. You’ve given to a mutual aid fund. You utilized your local sustainable facebook group whose title is also a promise, (“Everything Free [Insert Neighborhood Here]).” You’ve donated to countless GoFundMe campaigns, and perhaps you’ve sent money to those who lost income at the start of the pandemic. Maybe you’ve volunteered, or baked goods to make sure the children had gifts for the holidays. Do you consider yourself a philanthropist?

In 2011, Dr. Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland, 58, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, set out to let you know that you are. After working as a cultural anthropologist, urban designer, and award-winning global social impact executive, she founded the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network (PAWPNet) which birthed another idea: Black Philanthropy Month. Along with Valaida Fullwood, author of Giving Back, and Tracey Webb, creator of BlackGivesBack.com, the three women spent much of the last decade troubling popular notions of philanthropy on the national stage.

“My vision for Black Philanthropy Month is for it to be widely known and celebrated just as we observe Black History Month – a month to uplift the long and rich history of Black philanthropy, give back to our communities with time and treasure, and lay the groundwork for the future,” said Webb in a recent Forbes interview.

Black Philanthropy has existed as long as* the concept of Blackness as a social identity. From the time African captives were brought to the West, mutual aid projects, a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another, was paramount for survival. The ability to carry on, for yourself and others, was a constant reckoning.

Survival, noted theorist Saidiya Hartman says in The Anarchy of Colored Girls Assembled in a Riotous Manner, required acts of collaboration and genius. “The mutuality and creativity necessary to sustain life in the context of intermittent wages, controlled deprivation, economic exclusion, coercion, and antiblack violence often bordered on the extralegal and the criminal. Beautiful, wayward experiments entailed what W. E. B. Du Bois described as an “open rebellion” against society.”

We can understand the Haitian Revolution, the series of rebellions which bore the New World’s first Black republic, as one of the best known Black mutual aid projects. The insurrection lasted over a decade, beginning in 1791 and ending in 1804 with the establishment of an independent republic. In 1789, the Black population was divided into three parts: those who were free, those who were slaves, and those who ran away. The free population were those who had bought their freedom, or the children of French inhabitants (formally called Mulattos), of which these were about 30,000, and those who had run away were called Maroons. The enslaved populations numbered over 500,000 across the island. These groups collaborated, and overthrew the colonial government by 1798, led by Toussaint l’Overture. In 1801, his forces conquered the neighboring Spanish colony, known now as the Dominican Republic, and abolished slavery there, too.

 

Early Haitians understood, intimately, the ways in which their freedom was tied to those around them. The implementation and preservation of freedom from institutional slavery would always be threatened had they not. For those living through the founding of settler colonialism, freedom was a political project and a material condition.

For those living through the founding of settler colonialism, freedom was a political project and a material condition.

Formal Black mutual aid societies began popping up across the United States and Caribbean in the late 18th century and persisted for long after; they were a revolution in a minor key.* Created in opposition to the legal and extralegal control and domination of the free black population, networked kinship was an important part of Black life. Richard Allen, a free Philadelphian minister, writer and educator, was an early Black philanthropist who helped to found the Free African Society.

“Originally envisioned as a religious society by the ex-slaves Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the Free African Society quickly developed into a nondenominational organization that provided sick benefits to its members, maintained marriage records, and established the first African-American cemetery. After the withdrawal of Allen, the group also established the first African-American church in Philadelphia.

These groups could be found across the New World.

“In nineteenth-century Cuba, free [B]lacks established cabildos, or mutual aid societies that prioritized traditional African religious customs. These groups eventually evolved into sociedades mutuo socorro y recreo (society of mutual help and recreation), which focused more on economic independence and education as Afro-Cubans sought equality within the larger Cuban society. This evolution led to the formation of the Martí-Maceo Society in the United States in 1900; similar processes of cultural negotiation probably prompted the first African-American mutual aid societies as well.” (Encyclopedia)

Black women found themselves vulnerable to various mechanisms of domination during and after captivity, but still “found ways to carve out an alternate space for themselves that challenged scripts of race and gender.”

 

Freed women sought comfort from the personal pain slavery inflicted and the economic hardships they faced as a result of their gender and race through community networks that stemmed from the African American church. Through these networks, women developed a unique culture and community that provided support in times of crisis, and emotional closeness. Black women relied on extended kinship institutions such as the church and mutual aid and benevolent societies, which inculcated the doctrine of self-help and solidarity. [...] Kinship played an instrumental role in the community network of African American women. In some instances, landed kin helped landless family members acquire land.

 

Therefore, through an “internal land trade,” women gained access to small parcels of land which they equated with economic and personal independence.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

 

#BlackPhilanthropy Part 1: This is part one of a two-part series about the histories and futures of Black philanthropy in the Americas. To read the full piece, check out Medium page. We found ourselves thinking about the frame through which we view philanthropy, Blackness, mutuality, and freedom. We are always working to deepen our understanding of the contexts through which our ancestors lived and the ways they transformed the world around them to get by.

Stay tuned for our next edition, which will examine Black philanthropy from the early 20th century through today.

*The concept of the revolution in minor key comes from Saidiya Hartman's 2019 essay of the same name.

Opportunities to Listen

Opportunities To Listen:

Join the Ujima Time Bank!

Speaking of alternative currency... The Ujima Time Bank is another way to save money and create community connections while creating a new economy in Boston!

What is a time bank?

A Timebank is a system of exchange where the unit of value is person-hours. When a member of a timebank performs one hour of service for another member, they are awarded one hour of credit in the Timebank, which can then be redeemed for one hour of service from another member. For example: Samantha can fix Jess’s blinds, and then Jess can teach Freddie Spanish, then Freddie later gives Samantha a ride, and the Timebank keeps track so it’s fair.

*Featured Offer: "Resume Review/Help" Never expires

Are you unemployed or underemployed due to COVID19? Looking to make a career change? Fresh out of school? Returning to the workforce after some time away?

I'm happy to help you with your resume. I've worked in recruiting and career coaching before, and currently work at a nonprofit. I can help you turn a list of employment into a clean resume, use more effective action verbs in your job descriptions, help highlight successes, or help tailor your resume to make a career change. Also able to help you create or edit your LinkedIn profile, which is a useful tool for networking and finding job opportunities

*Featured Request: "Bring me your compost!" Never expires

If you're throwing food waste away in the trash and would like to see it go back into the earth to generate food and beauty for people and animals, I would love to take it off your hands! Preference for you to bring it here, but if you're able to collect and store a few five gallon buckets, I'd be happy to come pick it up or less if you're close by.

Join the time bank to respond and see more! Anyone who lives in Boston can join the Time Bank at www.ujimaboston.com/timebank!

How to Become a Co-Investor in the Ujima Fund

Another Boston Is Happening. Now You Can Invest in It.

www.ujimaboston.com/invest

  1. Read Ujima's Offering Memorandum. This document describes the risks, regulations, and background of the fund. The Offering Memorandum should be read in it's entirety, with careful attention to the Risk Factors (page 11), Description of Notes (39), and Subordination Agreement (77).
  2. Consult the personal finance worksheet if you are unsure of how much to invest.
  3. Invest online (multiple payment options available):
    1. Choose the option next to the type of investment you are making.
    2. Complete and sign all forms via Docusign (Investment Agreement, W-9, and Demographic Information).
    3. After submitting, select your payment option. (You will see instructions on how to send a check if that is your preferred payment.)
  4. OR: Invest via mail:
    1. Choose the option next to the type of investment you are making.
    2. Select the print option on Docusign.
    3. Complete and sign all forms manually (Investment Agreement, W-9, and Demographic Information).
    4. Write a check, payable to the Fund, for the amount you wish to invest in the applicable Notes.
    5. Send the Investment Agreement and your check to the Fund [PO BOX 180310 Boston MA 02118].
  5. Email invest@ujimaboston.com or call 617-446-3863 with any questions

Please contact invest@ujimaboston.com with any questions or issues that arise!

#UjimAppreciations

Thank you to...

  • PILOT Action Group, for their tireless advocacy to transform Boston's PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) program into a program that mediates a just recovery and abundant future for all Boston communities including their Town Hall August 6th.
  • Daniella Priesler of United States Federation of Worker Coops, for a helpful session on Conflict Resolution August 12th
  • Kate Barut  and Daniel Park of United States Federation of Worker Coops,  for their creative session on Meeting Facilitation July 29th!
  • All of our new members who have joined Ujima!
    • Jyothsna
    • Somala
    • Alexis
    • Brad
    • Tobias
  • All of the members who have renewed their Ujima memberships!
    • Dawn
    • Lor
  • All of our recent investors!
    • Annie
    • Fariba
    • Margaret
  • To Peers, Partners, and Community Members who are doing their part to keep us informed, safe, and loved during this time. 

Ujima Neighborhood Economics Study Group

We are excited that the Ujima Neighborhood Economics Study Group is underway, continuing to explore the feasibility of projects that address our community-wide needs. The group meets the second Wednesday of the month, and the next meeting is Wednesday, September 9th. This study group is co-coordinated by Ujima members and staff. Some participants will focus on a specific area of study and some writ-large. The group will build on the learnings from the exploration that Ujima members have already done, and will carry this research forward to get even closer to implementation and investment in projects that meet our needs.

The topics include:

  • Community Land Trust
  • Community Owned Internet
  • Community Owned Energy
  • Urban Farming
  • Creative Economic Placemaking (Black Market)
  • Community Space
  • Arts/Cultural Organizing Space
  • Childcare

There is also space for members to coordinate study groups on additional topics of interest. Please email lynchcasey2@gmail.com if you are interested in getting involved or want more information!

Internship Opportunities

We need your help to find great interns to grow our team. Ujima is offering these internship opportunities on an ongoing basis. Please share widely!

To apply, email intern@ujimaboston.com to express interest and get further information. 

Ujima Membership

Help us reach our goal of growing our membership to 700! Join Ujima today and help spread the word about our network and activities!

Jobs in the Ujima Network

Upcoming Ujima Meetings

We hold Open Meetings every Wednesday at 6pm, on ZOOM! Check out our June Calendar below! #UjimaWednesdays are always held and recorded online via Zoom in addition to being held in person. We've always provided a Zoom option to accommodate community members who are not able to join us in person for any reason.

6:00-7:15 - Community Building + Financial and Political Education.
7:15-8:30 - Member Team Meetings (Based on rotating schedule; See calendar above)

 

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