On Monday Dec. 29, people across the African Diaspora celebrate the fourth day of Kwanzaa, a seven-day celebration highlighting different principles bound in traditional African culture.
Ujamaa means cooperative economics. This principle grows out of the fundamental communal concept that social wealth belongs to the masses who created it, and that no one should have such an unequal amount of wealth that it gives them the capacity to impose exploitative relations on others.
Ujamaa also stresses self-reliance in the building strengthening and controlling of the economics of our own community. The assumption here is that we must seize and maintain the initiative in all that is ours and that we must harness our resources and put them to the best possible use in the service of the community.
Ujamaa is exemplified in the work of Brooklyn nonprofit Brooklyn Communities Collaborative (BCC), a group that is focused on reducing health inequities in Brooklyn.
This year, BCC finished its first Small Business Accelerator Program, which helps local entrepreneurs develop the skills to secure contracts with major institutions like hospitals and city agencies. The first cohort participated in weekly sessions, workshops, and personalized coaching, learning how to navigate procurement systems and build capacity to serve large-scale clients.
The program helped Mwah Flowers, founded by Stephen Copeland, to secure a contract and open up a gift shop in Maimonides Hospital in Borough Park.
“The biggest thing for me was being able to speak with and have access to larger outfits with the city and state,” Copeland said about the program.
He opened the gift shop on May 8, 2025.
To learn more about this successful program and how it exemplifies the principle of cooperative economics, go here.
Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 26, and for the seven days of Kwanzaa, BK Reader will feature a different local resident or organization that exemplifies one of the seven principles!
