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#LiberationEdition

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

Audre Lorde

TONIGHT AT 6:30PM: #UjimaWednesdays

Our next Ujima Financial & Political Education Workshop is tonight, Wednesday, October 21st, from 6:00pm-8:30pm.

  • 6:00PM-7:15PM #CoLearn: We'll be continuing our session with Mandela Co-op (Oakland, CA) via pre-recorded video.
  • 7:15PM-8:30PM #CoCreation: Anchor Institution and Investor Outreach Member Teams

PLEASE RSVP. Thank you!

Time: Wednesday, October 21st, 6PM | Location: Zoom Only

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#CoLearning Recap: Mandela Grocery Cooperative

Last Wednesday, members viewed a pre-recorded video from the Mandela Grocery Cooperative in Oakland, CA. Click here to watch the videos.

#LiberationEdition Part 1

Liberation: the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression; release. The power to shape your own existence in this world.

 

In the preface to his 2002 book Freedom Dreams, Robin DG Kelley asked, “How do we produce a vision that enables us to see beyond our immediate ordeals? How do we transcend bitterness and cynicism and embrace love, hope, and an all-encompassing dream of freedom, especially in these rough times?” Kelley continued, “Without new visions we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down. We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution is not a series of clever maneuvers and tactics but a process that can and must transform us.”

There are many pathways to liberation, each defined by the individual and communities seeking it. Within these pathways, there are multiple uses and tools towards liberation. Last month at our For Ujima By Ujima panel, we discussed voting, citizenship, democracy and participation in 2020. With the Presidential election just two weeks away, we are still grappling with the topics surfaced from our conversation. This edition of the WIRE will look at some of the ways liberation is defined and applied today.

In a recent article in Scalawag Magazine on voting and Black disillusionment, Mississippi Votes’ executive director, Arekia Bennett commented, "If Black Liberation is our North Star, then electoral justice should be the lighthouse on our way today. The people who are suited to address the real material conditions of our people's lives may not be our faves. But I have faith that people are gonna do what they're supposed to do."

 

Black suffrage in the United States is a long and storied history. Voting and citizenship were largely denied to BIPOC communities until 1870. In the century after Reconstruction, local and political actors — white nationalists — sought to suppress access although the 14th and 15th Amendments granted full citizenship to those born on U.S. soil and prohibited states from voter disenfranchisement “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Further, it wasn’t until the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, that women at large were given the right to vote.

 

“Even after the 19th Amendment passed, promising that the right to vote would ‘not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,’ women of color continued to be barred from casting ballots in many states with tactics like poll taxes and literacy tests. Suffrage battles continued for decades—often against a backdrop of intimidation and violence,” writes Lakshmi Ghandi in a History.org article on the subject. After the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which granted access to Black people, and POC at large, to vote, there was an increase in voter parity and elected officials of color in political office.

 

But how do these advancements stack up to the broader goal of liberation? Some people of color find themselves disillusioned by the idea of voting, although they may participate begrudgingly under the auspice of harm reduction. In a 2020 essay by IndigineousAction.org editors state, “you cannot decolonize the ballot.” There are many other articles and opinion pieces published by people of color with the same rhetoric. Elsewhere, Americans say that what’s at stake for their safety, lives, livelihoods and futures makes this election, in particular, feel like “the most important of their lifetime.”

 

The Washington Post reports: “We shouldn’t be where we’re at in 2020,” said Tasha Grant, 44, a nurse who voted in Charlotte on Thursday.” Many others in the piece echo this idea: they understand that voting is not the end-all, but exists as one powerful tool in decreasing social, economic, and ecological harm in our communities.

 

In W.E.B. Dubois’s formative 1899 study, The Philadelphia Negro, he notes that the condition of Black Victorian-era society was created by structural conditions that racial capitalism and slavery created. W.E.B. Dubois, and his contemporaries, concerned themselves with understanding the economic conditions of Black life, and strategies for improvement. Traces of these philosophies around ending class and racial injustices are still found in our conversations today.

In a 2020 article for Revolt on the subject of economic empowerment, Julian Mitchell writes:

The foundation of racism has always been fueled by the mechanics of classism, which serves as the basis of why Black bodies were classified as property before being properly recognized as people. [...] If race was neutralized, perceivably making all races equal in the context of skin color, classism would then determine value and social positioning according to worth, calculated by accumulated liquid (cash flow), equity and tangible assets. Therefore, the distribution of power would be anchored in the differences in wealth amongst communities. Due to the existing racial dynamic, this notion of equality still places white people atop the class system due to collectively acquiring exponentially more wealth over time; continuing as the top priority for available opportunity, resources and services alike. Understanding this, it is even more imperative today for Black people as a collective to emphasize the importance of wealth building as an essential act of revolution required to achieve the true freedom and equality we desire.”

Mitchell’s ideas echo that of Booker T. Washington, who encouraged rejection of political action in favor of building capitalism within the Black community.

Writer Aaron Ross Coleman objects to this concept in his 2019 article for the Nation by stating “Black Capitalism Won’t Save Us.” He writes: “If we needed any evidence of the futility of black capitalism, last spring, the nation’s leading stratification economists at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity published a hefty report rebutting the ‘harmful narratives’ that buying black, banking black, or fostering black entrepreneurship will close the racial wealth gap, concluding that ‘it is time to move beyond these fallacies and confront the root causes of the racial wealth gap. Otherwise we will whistle in the wind, and the racial wealth gap will remain unchallenged.’ [...] The debt of black Americans’ citizenship has been incurred many times over, and the bill is past due.”

 

Theoretical analysis, while helpful for understanding our conditions, needs an embodied practice in order to live out its true purpose. Ed Whitfield expounds on freedom dreams in an unfree world in his essay What Must We Do to Be Free: On the Building of Liberated Zones, where he cites Audre Lorde’s famous criticism, “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”


“This has often been misinterpreted to mean that tools that are of use to oppressive systems cannot be used to build liberating systems,” says Whitfield, “What she clearly explained in the same paragraph of the same essay was that ‘. . .this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.’ I would make her point differently. I think that you can tear down the master’s house using some of the master’s tools. Tools are just tools. They amplify, or multiply human effort and they don’t have to be used the way they were intended or for the purpose they were created. I think that the real problem is that it is difficult to tear down the master’s house while you live in it. And that, for many of us, represents the challenge.”

#LiberationEdition Part 1: This is part one of a two-part series about tools and methods towards liberation. In writing this essay, we found ourselves engrossed in the many ways BIPOC communities have forged various paths towards liberation. Visit our Medium Page for the full essay. Stay tuned for our next edition where we will examine spirituality, organizing and expatriation as avenues for our collective freedom dreams.

Liberation Reading List:

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.

There are over 600 talents available for you to tap into, or join, in the Ujima Time Bank! This week's featured talent is Transportation. There are 35 people available to give you assistance with bike, car and home maintance!

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...

  • West Fairmount Hill Community-Group, for inviting Johnny Charles, Managing Director, Ujima Fund, to speak at their Racial Justice in Hyde Park Forum
  • Mitty Owens at Tranform Finance for spotlighting Ujima Project at the Transform Finance Institute for Social Justice Leaders.
  • Prof. Rebecca Uchill for inviting Ujima Staff into her viritual class, Scholarship in Community, at Umass Dartmouth.
  • Prof. Lauren Grattan for inviting our Executive Director, Nia Evans, to speak virtually with her class Neoliberalism and Its Critics at Wellesley College.
  • All of our new members who have joined Ujima!
    • Tammy
    • Reann
    • Jason
    • Dorchester Food Coop
    • Dava
    • Lady
    • Bing
    • Jamie
  • All of the members who have renewed their Ujima memberships!
    • Neenah
    • Anthony
    • Sarah
    • Lucy
    • Michael
    • Jude
    • Nadav
  • 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, November 11th. 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

Full Time Positions

Part-Time Positions

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 September 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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