Umoja- moving in unity
Umoja ( oo-MO-jah)
To Strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation , and race.
Unity is commonly defined as the state of being united or joined as a whole. I think in order to understand this concept it is important that we acknowledge that our existence would not be, if it wasn’t for a conjoining of energies, which helps dispel the concept of “Self-Made in its entirety. Unity starts in the family. A family that is united is a family that is strong. Pre- Trans Atlantic Slave trade, long before we were stolen we believed in family. Families didn’t just consist of the Nuclear family, which includes father, Mother and children, however the family consisted of many more such as : grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins to include the oldest of old elders and our ancestors. This concept allowed for the family to operate as a unit. In the unit there were many roles and the family members filled them. For example, the elders served as teachers, caregivers and childcare providers. IT was not uncommon to see a grandmother cooking for the whole family so the parents could work, or the mother could care for her children. No role was bigger or lesser than the next. These roles were important for the purpose of maintaining culture and traditions. It wasn’t uncommon to see many family units residing together, working together, and building together. The purpose of family was very strong in these times because there was no outside influence that would detour one from the norms and customs we lived by. Just thinking about this, it's not hard for me to imagine being married young, having kids but also having the support of your entire family.
The establishment of unity in the family paves the way for unity in the community. A Community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a characteristic in common; the people in the community typically share common attitudes, interests and goals. The concept of unity may be difficult to understand if one was not privileged in the family prior to being a young adult entering the community. This is where the concept “it takes a Village to Raise a Child” comes from. As mentioned above the family unit consisted of the nuclear family and extended family; the community includes friends, neighbors, and anyone who resides within proximity, sharing the same attitudes, interest, and goals. Unity in a community helps to promote a sense of togetherness. Unity in the community reflects us collectively working together to achieve outcomes that directly effect or impact our community.
The family and the Community help to build a healthy nation. A nation is defined as a sovereign state to whose citizens are relatively alike in factors such as language, or common descent. This implies that it Is possible to build a nation when we start in our very homes building unity in our families and communities. The nation does its job to hold the families and the community members accountable to this very principal.
Race plays its role because race refers to a specific group of people. Being black growing up in America contradicts the concept of unity, primarily because this was the very thing that the slave masters disapproved of. They knew that a people that lacked unity was a people that could be divided. Moving forward we have the ability to rewrite what has been written for us and return to concepts that better serve us individually and as a collective.
On this day of Kwanzaa.. You are being asked to discuss what unity means to your family, your community, nation and race. Ask yourself why unity is important, and then set your intentions of how you plan to move toward a more unified family, community, nation and race. In this discussion make sure to discuss any barriers there might interfere with the unity you are setting your intention towards. Address those concerns and create a plan that will allow you to move forward with confidence and discipline .
