Although many Gullah/Geechees celebrate “ujima”=”collective work and responsibility” annually during Kwanzaa with millions of others in the world, the embodiment of this principle is the foundation of the family compounds that make up the communities of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.gullahgeecheenation.com). The numerous African ethnic groups that make up Gullah/Geechee DNA and that were contributors to the language, spiritual traditions, and foodways of the Gullah/Geechee Nation worked collectively to reshape the landscape of the Sea Islands and what is often called the “Lowcountry” because they were responsible for building it.
In honor of the work done collectively by their ancestors and elders, the leaders of the Gullah/Geechee organizations, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition (www.gullahgeechee.net), the Gullah/Geechee Angel Network (www.gullahgeecheeangelnetwork.com), and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Committee of Northeast Florida continue to work together and with numerous other groups of people of African descent in the United States and around the world to uplift the Black community and to do as the principle of UJIMA represents: “To build and maintain our community while working with others to solve our problems.”
Queen Quet addresses the manifestations of UJIMA in the Gullah/Geechee Nation as a mechanism to combat problems in the Black community on this Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio episode: