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#1920Edition

Quote | #CoLearning Recap | #1920Edition | Opportunities to Listen |  Ujima Time Bank | How to Invest in Ujima | Appreciations | Neighborhood Econ. Study Group | Ujima is Hiring | Membership Renewal | Jobs | Upcoming Meetings 

Dr. Cornel West

#UjimaWednesdays: No Workshops/Meeting

There are no #UjimaWednesdays for the rest of the year. We'll see you soon. Happy Holidays!

Investments Report Out Recap: CERO Co-op

Last Wednesday, members and investors heard updates from CERO Co-operative, our first investment recipient, for the anniversary of our first Ujima Investment Vote!

Click here to watch the full archived video.

#1920Edition

Just one year before, the streets were ablaze. One third of the world’s population were infected by the influenza pandemic, and approximately 50 million people died internationally. White supremacist terriorism was heightened. And as a result, uprisings sprang up in almost forty cities across the United States. “The economy was topsy-turvy. Inflation was out of control. There were an enormous amount of strikes,” writer Cameron McWhirter revealed to TIME Magazine, “Black equality and black assertions of rights were being equated with some sort of radical action and radical message.” The future must have seemed opaque. In this week’s #UjimaWire, we decided to look forward by looking back at a decade that eerily parallels our own cultural and socio-political context: the 1920’s. And there is no better lens to view this decade than to delve into life in Harlem, and the artistic renaissance that catapulted the neighborhood into an iconic cultural mecca of Black life.

African Americans, and many others in the diaspora, went to New York City, just as they did many other Northern cities, seeking opportunity. The relocation became known as the Great Migration. “In 1915 and 1916, natural disasters in the south put [B]lack workers and sharecroppers out of work. Additionally, during and after World War I, immigration to the United States fell, and northern recruiters headed south to entice black workers to their companies,” recorded History.com. By the end of 1919, about a million Black southerners had made the trek.

In Harlem, the people found a laboratory: a way of living out, or perhaps the constant anticipation of their freedom and desires in a world that wanted anything but. Perhaps what they found wouldn’t look like much: crowded apartments and boarding housing, domestics and factory workers, number runners and accountants, drunks and Christians, teachers of all sorts, unemployed women who eyed the block and men who hugged it. Inside the house parties, stairwells, and even in the public parks, was the beautiful intimacy of Black social life. Radical, new arrangements for living, being, and economic exchange that attempted to evade the gaze of the uninitiated. If you knew, you knew.

“If we were to offer a symbol of what Harlem has come to mean in the short span of 20 years it would be another Statue of Liberty on the landward side of New York,” boasted Alain Locke in 1925, “Harlem has become the greatest Negro community the world has known [...] But beyond this Harlem represents the Negroes latest thrust towards democracy.”

Experimentation took many forms, and at that time we’re sure many Black Americans were skillful in the art. It didn’t take much to transgress then. Prohibition, vagrancy laws, and moral codes meant anyone could be a target for harassment by legal and extralegal forces. The New Negro Movement, as Alain Locke called it, sought new visions for Black life through organizing, protests, literature, art, and more. The NAACP, established just a decade before, was active in its legal defense and political lobbying for the right to vote, anti-lynching laws and the end of segregation. Elsewhere, Marcus Garvey was organizing the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which aimed to “celebrate African American heritage; advocate for Black opportunities in education, politics, and the workplace; and promote Pan-Africanism. There [were] more than 5,000 members by 1922.” 

At that time, the NAACP also called for culture to become a part of the movement. “I think we have enough talent,” W. E. B. Du Bois had announced in 1920, “to start a renaissance.” 

Around the country, Harlem’s reputation and cultural products came to represent an oasis of sorts. The clubs and cabarets, though colorist, were places where people of different races and status could mingle in ways that would be illegal in many other towns and cities. Jazz, transgressive and dissonant, unbound and improvisational, self-determined and self-possessed, brought them in. The Apollo Theatre and the Cotton Club became internationally known, and hosted some of the most famous names of the day. Perhaps cloaked by the anonymity of urban life, the intimate arrangements in Harlem, allowed for queer culture and expression to blossom. LGBTQ performers sauntered across stages, gesturing to straight and queer audiences who tipped gleefuly.

Through the Harlem Renaissance, Black people continued to develop a new visual and cultural lexicon for the culture and themselves. 

In the opening of this new decade, we have continued to forge along that path, taking charge of our narratives and movements, against the backdrop of the global pandemic. Zora Neale Hurston once said, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” What did this year ask of us, and how will we respond to the call?

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This is part one of a two-part series about Black life in the 1920's, stay tuned for our next edition where we will continue to examine political life and public health in the 1920s.

More Resources:

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: "Editing and Writing Help" Never Expires

"Do you have a cover letter you're struggling with? Maybe you want another set of eyes on a poem you wrote. No matter what you're working on, I can help make your writing shine. All genres welcome (but no novels, please!)"

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!

Ujima Appreciations

Thank you to...

  • Andy Tarsy and Vilna Shul for inviting Ujima to join their Antiracism and Empowerment Series to discuss community our work and community building efforts
  • Urban Manufacturing Alliance for inviting Ujima to facilitate a fireside chat on nontraditional underwriting
  • Boston Artists in Residence (AIR) for inviting Ujima to discuss the importance of arts and cultural organizing in Ujima's work
  • All of our new members who have joined Ujima!
    • Ediss
    • Aida
    • Susan
    • David
    • Joel
    • Sherry
    • Adrienne
    • Cynthia
  • All of the members who have renewed their Ujima memberships!
    • Kimberly
    • Darris
    • Gideon
    • Gaby
    • Jill
    • Laurent
  • All of our recent investors!
    • Pamela
    • Madeline
    • Andrea
  • To Peers, Partners, and Community Members who are doing their part to keep us informed, safe, and loved during this time. 

Ujima Neighborhood Economic 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, January 22nd. 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 Renewal

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

Jobs in the Ujima Network

The Ujima Jobs Board has moved! Click here to access all of the job listings in our network.

If you are hiring and would like to be included on our biweekly newsletter, send your listing to comms@ujimaboston.com!

Upcoming Ujima Meetings

We hold Open Meetings every Wednesday at 6pm, on Zoom! Check out our December Calendar below!

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

www.ujimaboston.com

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