Every day from December 26-January 1, Pax Christi USA will share a reflection on one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Pax Christi USA National Field Organizer Stephen Niamke has prepared each piece to show how Kwanzaa is an effective approach to community organizing — a celebratory, nonviolent, Afrocentric approach to wellness, justice, and peace.
In 2024, Executive Director Charlene Howard wrote, “Kwanzaa is an African American holiday … to celebrate family, community and culture. Although it was not designed to be a religious holiday, the seven principles possess a spiritual quality that is evident in holy scripture and resonates with our principles of Catholic Social Teaching inspired by Pope Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum. The binding thread is acknowledging that we thrive in community and common care for one another.”
Day 4: Ujamaa/Cooperative economics: Building shared prosperity as a pathway to justice and peace
To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
Acts 4:32: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” While Kwanzaa remains secular, this scripture affirms the moral legitimacy of shared economic life.
The Kwanzaa ceremony: On the fourth day of Kwanzaa, the middle red candle is lit. Red represents struggle, and its central placement is instructive. Economic struggle has been one of the most enduring and destructive dimensions of racial oppression. Ujamaa directly addresses this reality by reframing economics not as competition, but as cooperation; not as accumulation for a few, but as sustainability for the many. Ujamaa is not merely about business ownership. It is an ethical economic vision rooted in Africentric values of reciprocity, shared benefit, and collective survival. It challenges systems that extract wealth from African American communities while offering little in return.
Ujamaa in the family: Modeling ethical consumption and stewardship: Within the family, Ujamaa begins with everyday economic choices. How money is spent, saved, and shared teaches powerful lessons that are often more influential than words. Families practicing Ujamaa approach finances as a moral activity, not a private obsession. They recognize the interconnectedness of having wealth for the purpose of sharing it with others in order for the community, and those within it, to flourish.
This includes:
- Supporting Black-owned and community-based businesses
- Teaching children the difference between wants and needs
- Practicing saving and collective planning
- Discussing money openly to reduce shame and secrecy
- Recognizing and learning that wealth is more than just material
- That giving of time, energy, and creativity is a part of the wealth of the community
By involving children in age-appropriate financial conversations, families demystify economics and empower the next generation. Children learn that money is a tool, not a measure of worth.
Ujamaa as community wellness: Economic resilience through mutual aid: At the community level, Ujamaa addresses one of the root causes of collective stress: economic instability. Disinvestment, predatory lending, and wage disparities have left many African American communities vulnerable to crisis. The challenge then becomes one of developing new systems within the community that will refute the negative impact of current practices.
Ujamaa counters this by promoting:
- Cooperative enterprises that may stem from asset mapping
- Mutual aid networks that identify needs and resources
- Community land trusts that prevent gentrification and protect the environment
- Collective purchasing and resource sharing that foster healthy interdependency
These practices reduce dependency on exploitative systems and increase local control. From a wellness perspective, economic stability is inseparable from mental and emotional health. Chronic financial insecurity fuels anxiety, depression, and family strain. Africentric thought emphasizes balance over excess. The proverb “A hungry man is not a free man” underscores that economic justice is foundational to all other forms of freedom.
Economic exploitation leaves psychological scars, feelings of inadequacy, fear, and mistrust. Ujamaa offers healing by restoring agency and redefining success. When families and communities work together economically, they reclaim control over their labor and resources. This collective empowerment is extremely beneficial, particularly for those who have experienced generational poverty or economic exclusion. Ujamaa teaches that dignity is not granted by wealth accumulation, but by participation in a system that values people over profit.
Ujamaa in nonviolent community organizing: For organizers, Ujamaa provides a practical strategy for addressing systemic inequality without resorting to violence. Economic power is one of the most effective nonviolent tools available to marginalized communities.
Ujamaa-informed organizing includes:
- Boycotts and buycotts
- Cooperative development, such as an urban garden
- Community investment strategies or community benefit agreements
- Worker-owned enterprises that promote the sharing community resources
- Developing and supporting local businesses
- Mentoring young people as they develop career interests
These approaches align with nonviolent principles by disrupting unjust systems while building alternatives. They also foster long-term sustainability, reducing reliance on external funding that can compromise autonomy.
Shared prosperity as sacred work: Ujamaa calls us to imagine an economy where no one is disposable and success is measured by collective well-being. It insists that justice and peace are impossible without economic fairness. As the red candle burns, it illuminates a path forward where struggle is met not with despair, but with cooperation; not with hoarding, but with sharing. Ujamaa reminds us that economic justice is not charity—it is responsibility.
An Africentric proverb states, “Wealth is not what you have, but what you share.” Ujamaa reinforces that prosperity divorced from community well-being is hollow.
Note regarding the use of “Africentric“
From Baobab Tree: “In education, Afrocentrism has generally had an inward focus, bringing needed self-knowledge to Black children. Africentrism, in our usage, is outwardly focused – on what Black culture means in larger cultural contexts.”