Day 4 – Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
- Ruby N Lewis
- Dec 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 11
Building What We Own. Sustaining What Sustains Us.
On Day 4 of Kwanzaa, we honor Ujamaa—Cooperative Economics. This principle calls us to build and maintain our own businesses, support one another’s labor, and profit together, not individually, not competitively—but collectively.
Ujamaa is not just about money. It is about power, protection, and survival.
In a society shaped by systemic bias—where Black-owned businesses are underfunded, overpoliced, underpromoted, and often excluded from generational wealth—Ujamaa becomes an act of resistance and restoration.
Every dollar we intentionally circulate within our community becomes a vote. A shield. A seed.
Why Ujamaa Matters—Especially in a Systemically Biased Society
For generations, Black communities have been systematically blocked from fair access to capital, property ownership, business loans, and equitable marketplaces. Even today:
Black entrepreneurs receive a fraction of traditional business funding.
Black-owned businesses are less likely to be recommended, featured, or supported.
Entire neighborhoods lack access to Black-owned stores and services.
Yet, despite these barriers, Black people have always built anyway.
Ujamaa reminds us that we are not powerless—we are powerful together.
When we support Black-owned businesses:
We keep money circulating locally.
We create jobs for our own people.
We fund education, creativity, and innovation.
We reduce dependency on systems not designed to protect us.
Ujamaa is how we turn collective struggle into collective strength.
What Ujamaa Looks Like in Action at PDDBM
At Please Don’t Die Black Men (PDDBM), Cooperative Economics is not a theory—it is a practice.
We intentionally teach Black youth and families that:
Ownership matters.
Creative labor has value.
Our culture is not free.
We deserve to profit from what we build.
PDDBM’s Cooperative Economic Model Includes:
An online store offering shoes, clothing, tapestries, books, creative products, and more.
Paid classes and workshops that pour resources back into programming.
Youth-designed products, where students learn how to create, market, and sell their own work.
Events, showcases, and marketplaces that prioritize Black vendors and creatives.
Our online store isn’t just a shop—it’s a cycle:
Purchase → Fund programs → Empower youth → Create more Black-owned products → Reinvest in community.
This is Ujamaa in motion.
How to Intentionally Spend Day 4 of Kwanzaa (Ujamaa)
Today is NOT a passive day.
It is a do-something day.
Here are meaningful ways to honor Ujamaa today:
Buy from a Black-owned business (especially one in your local community).
Share a Black-owned business on your social media.
Leave a review or recommendation—it matters.
Invest in a class, product, or service created by Black creatives.
Teach children where their money goes and why it matters.
Shop intentionally at PDDBM’s online store to directly support Black youth programs.
Even one intentional purchase is powerful when done with purpose.
A Call to Action: Build With Us
Ujamaa asks a simple but profound question:
Who are you supporting with your dollars?
Today, we invite you to:
Support Black-owned businesses consistently—not just today.
Shop PDDBM’s online store and help sustain youth empowerment programs.
Share our mission with someone who believes in community over competition.
Commit to practicing cooperative economics beyond Kwanzaa.
Because when we build together, we don’t just survive—we thrive.
Ujamaa is not charity. It is strategy. It is legacy. It is love in economic form.
Today, we choose to build—and profit—together.
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