The past five years have been very difficult ones for me. The fundamental shock of seeing my fellow countryfolk vote for Trump in the 2016 election curdled into a trauma over time, as I learned just how mistaken I was about the attitudes of the Americans around me — even folks I thought had been … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Umoja (Unity)
Tag: kwanzaa
Kwanzaa 2020: Ujamaa
Habari gani, fam? Today is one of my absolute favorite days of Kwanzaa, where we celebrate the virtue of Ujamaa, or Cooperative Economics. The creativity, drive, and passion of our community is unparalleled, and it's always exciting to shine a light on the people we can support with our money, word of mouth, and even … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2020: Ujamaa
Kwanzaa 2020: Ujima
Habari gani, fam? 2020 has made me keenly aware of my place within my community, and how important my relationships are to me. When George Floyd was murdered by police officers and the collective frustration of millions of Americans bubbled over into street protests, it meant a lot that folks checked in on me because … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2020: Ujima
Kwanzaa 2020: Kujichagulia
Habari gani, fam? Today we focus on the principle of kujichagulia, or self-determination. Any people that have struggled to throw off the legacy of slavery and institutional racism fundamentally struggle for the right to determine who they are themselves, instead of accepting the role the dominant culture pushes on them. As Black Americans, we deal … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2020: Kujichagulia
Kwanzaa 2020: Umoja
Hot take: achieving unity is an active effort that requires us to see the virtues in others and the flaws in ourselves.
Kwanzaa, Day 7: Imani (Faith)
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? Happy New Year! I'm pretty sure most of us (myself included) are spending the final day of Kwanzaa somewhat sleep-deprived and hungover, so I'll speak quietly and wish you the tastiest of greasy breakfasts and a quick recovery so you can start 2018 getting your shit handled. No matter how … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 7: Imani (Faith)
Kwanzaa, Day 6: Kuumba (Creativity)
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? Today is the last day of 2017, and to say it's been an interesting year is a small understatement. But we've made it! We're about to enter 2018, a year full of new possibilities and problems that will require us to be united, self-aware, diligent, cooperative, and purposeful to solve. … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 6: Kuumba (Creativity)
Kwanzaa, Day 5: Nia (Purpose)
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? Today's principle is Nia, or Purpose. This is another one of those blue-sky concepts that could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people and that can make it a little difficult to talk about. What context should we place Nia in? How does it fit … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 5: Nia (Purpose)
Kwanzaa, Day 4: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? So a number of studies have been released teasing out the role that race plays in upward mobility -- in other words, how easy it is for black vs. white families to rise out of poverty. There's this study from the Brookings Institution about the economic mobility of black and … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 4: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Kwanzaa, Day 3: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? One of the things I'll strive to remember in 2018 is that we're all in this together. We all share the planet we call home and we all share our collective victories and setbacks -- from that perspective, there's just no need to be envious of someone else's success and … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 3: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 