UJIMA: Collective Work and Responsibility
“To build and maintain our community together and to make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems, our problems and to solve them together.”

Ujima is a Kiswahili word indicating that we are collectively responsible for one another, particularly as we work together. It indicates a commitment to being active and living by a principle of shared or collective work and responsibility that is beneficial to the community. Ujima is also recognized as the third principle of the Nguzo Saba, typically celebrated during Kwanzaa, an African diasporic cultural festival created during the late 1960s by Maulana Karenga.
It is a commitment to active and informed togetherness on matters of common interest. It is also recognition and respect of the fact that without collective work and struggle, progress is impossible and liberation unthinkable. In other words, our collective identity in the long run is a collective future. Thus, there is a need and obligation for us as self-conscious and committed people to shape our future with our own minds and hands and share its hardships and benefits together.
Definition written with material contributed by:
http://www.endarkenment.com/kwanzaa/nguzosaba/ujima.htm
DAAS @ 50 Podcast: Beginning with the Past. The Journey so Far!

The Department of Afroamerican and African Studies is part of a larger movement of Africana Studies programs begun during the era of civil rights and independence efforts across the African Diaspora. Moving through history, the sights, sounds and thoughts that bring the past to life are powerfully conveyed through multimedia productions.
By making use of the podcast method of presenting history beyond the pages of books that are well-thumbed by students of higher learning, DAAS seeks to provide alternative means of capturing the past. By evoking the memories of those who were history makers, we are able to discover what people at the time were experiencing.
In addition to the oral histories and interviews you can explore in other sections of this website, please take the time to view our first completed podcast. We look forward to your feedback and finding out what other aspects of the department you are interested in exploring.