Greetings Good People! This year's Kwanzaa Table will feature "tales of the day", e.g. stories and lessons out of the days headlines that help us to remember that the principles of Kwanzaa do not simply honor the past or prepare for the future, but also define the core of how we can embrace and exist today.

UJAAMA! is the word of the day. Ujaama means cooperative economics. Today's reflection is short and sweet because many of us have a core understanding of what "cooperative economics" means. But in the season of Kwanzaa when we celebrate the expression of cultural values particularly significant to the African American community - values that have sustained, propelled, and inspired generations of the African Diaspora here in the United States - it's worth a moment to pause about the particular nature of cooperative economics within the principle of Ujaama.

Ujaama moves us beyond the concept of business for business sake - even if it is an extraordinary business! The principle of Ujaama requires that a business support, uplift, serve, and be a tool in meaningfully sustaining our community, as well as, being "good for the culture."

The first story of the day to reflect this principle has origins dating back so long, that this business's founding doesn't meet the criteria of using current news stories to elevate the principles of Kwanzaa! But the "why and how" of their survival through 2020 - moving them into their third generation of ownership - most certainly does. Introducing Lee's Flower Shop: https://www.leesflowersdc.com/history

The second story is about a woman who returned home and started a non-profit farm - that is so much more than a farm - in the middle of the hood (because where else would you build a farm that matters?). Introducing Fresh Future Farm: https://charlestonmag.com/features/at_fresh_future_farm_germaine_jenkins_cultivates_a_healthy_well_fed_future_for_underserved