EDWARD GALAN
How did you first discover Ujima, and what initially drew you to be a part of our community?
One of my friends introduced me to Ujima; I have some folks that are really involved in solidarity economics, and economic concerns in Black and brown communities. A lot of my attention has focused and shifted in that direction over the years.
What are your overall thoughts about Ujima’s mission and our approach to community-driven investment?
I think it's great. We need organizations that are primarily advocating for Black and brown businesses just because of the ridiculous disparities that are out there. I really appreciate that Ujima is out there in a more holistic way, too; not just investing money, but getting the community involved, making it really easy for people like me to get involved and providing a lot of educational opportunities.
Does your role as a delegate ensure that the community's voice is represented in
investment decisions?
I'm just another person, you know, with my own unique perspective; having as many diverse voices as you can is always good. One thing that I'm very passionate about, a big part of my roles at both EForAll and at A Trike Called Funk, is always trying to create opportunities for people, opportunities for other businesses. At A Trike Called Funk, we're always trying to bring in other creatives to collaborate, be a part of our gigs. A lot of creatives don't think of themselves as business owners, or people who are really economic drivers–we're also trying to change that. That perception from the outside and also from within: we need creatives to see their value in the economy, and demand their value and pay for gigs. Being involved with organizations like Ujima is super important: it's not just for small businesses and people with brick and mortars, for any and all entrepreneurs who care about economic justice.
“Being involved with organizations like Ujima is super important: it's not just for small businesses and people with brick and mortars, for any and all entrepreneurs who care about economic justice.” — Edward Galan
How does Ujima align with your current work at EForAll and A Trike Called Funk?
Yeah, well, it aligns really, really well with work that I'm doing at EForAll Roxbury. EforAll is a nonprofit that [was] started to help not just communities of color, but a lot of marginalized communities. And people who normally don't have access to education about entrepreneurship, access to mentors, and access to funds. We help those communities get those resources in a free program that's a year long. And, yeah, we believe that helping out these entrepreneurs and small businesses is going to be a major economic driver for the community.
In my time here, I'm noticing it's not just about you know, turning these small businesses into million dollar businesses, right? That's not going to necessarily happen for the vast majority of them. But what is happening is that people are being empowered. People are learning the nuts and bolts of how to run a business which is a transferable skill that they can take [with them].
I think your team is doing much more than what I see or I'm involved with. But I have been a part of educational offerings that Ujima has done, especially online. I see that a lot of these businesses that I'm following [are] excited about Ujima investing in them, helping them get a good, solid foundation. One that comes to mind is Comfort Kitchen. I just see that Ujima is really very passionate about helping create economic solidarity and really bringing in resources to underserved communities.
How do you feel the Ujima delegate program creates an environment where participants feel empowered and personally invested in the decision making process?
Giving us the opportunity to learn about and vote on these important decisions is very empowering. And the impact is very apparent. I'm personally invested in making Boston a better place; I want to stop seeing so much displacement of communities, and the way we make that happen is creating a thriving business sector, helping to create more jobs and more opportunities for people. That part right there makes it for me. I grew up in Boston, so I’m very invested in being there for our community.
Could you share an example of how the delegate group’s decisions hold the community's interests at the forefront of investment ratification?
I think the Bay State Banner example works here; I would see the Banner maybe when I took the train, but I don't really read their work. And when I was doing my research on what it represents and what it's done, I realized that this investment is really important for not just the legacy, but the future of Black media. I was really interested in learning about their plan to shift to new forms of media, and I wanted to support them because of what they mean to Black Boston.
Looking ahead, how do you envision the delegate program staying connected to the broader Ujima community?
I do appreciate when there's like more in-person opportunities to meet other delegates and meet other people who are involved with Ujima; I think this is an interesting space that Ujima has created, holding like-minded people with similar priorities and similar visions. It's really powerful to try to link people like that together. I'm just really glad you're doing this, and really excited for the possibilities that these investments unleash. I was at one of our investees, Comfort Kitchen, over the weekend and I felt joyful in that space seeing the jobs they’re providing, and the quality eats they’re serving!
Edward Galan has a background in education, arts, and health-related fields, serving as an entrepreneur, teacher, and facilitator. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Naropa University, specializing in Psychology of Health and Healing, Music, and Peace Studies. His primary emphasis lies in leveraging the arts and diverse communication strategies to foster meaningful connections across various differences and divides.
LYSE FEDJANIE
How did you first discover Ujima, and what initially drew you to be a part of our community?
The Boston Ujima Project came up on my social media, and I joined a newsletter. So my first involvement was checking out the newsletter, reading through activities and happenings. I finally started getting more active during the pandemic; my schedule kept clashing with a lot of the events prior, but during the pandemic (and with everything being remote) it was a lot more accessible. I became more active with the arts and culture organizing in January 2022, when I ran a microlearning session, Cyborgian Liberatory Media.
I see Ujima creating a framework for the solidarity economy in Boston; a lot of the work that I'm doing is around Afrofuturism—creating worlds and realities that are more equitable, more liberatory, more life giving, and I see Ujima’s goals, activities, events, and workshops as being well-aligned with all of that.
Are there any standout moments in your time with us that have made an impression on you?
I really enjoyed doing the microlearning sessions, and having such a broad variety of people attend, participating and approaching from different angles (from an academic standpoint, from a practical standpoint)—I think that, to me, was powerful. But I also really enjoy being a delegate and voting on investments for some of the businesses in Boston.
What are your overall thoughts about Ujima’s mission and our approach to community-driven investment?
I'm really appreciative of it. As somebody who's really interested in building out Black futures, Ujima’s quote (“another Boston is possible”) feels very aligned. The fact that they're actually doing it helps open up those possibilities even further; people in our communities are gaining power to decide how things develop and grow in their communities, what they want to cultivate, and what they want to support. I appreciate the collectivity in that work as well.
“I see Ujima creating a framework for the solidarity economy in Boston; a lot of the work that I'm doing is around Afrofuturism—creating worlds and realities that are more equitable, more liberatory, more life giving, and I see Ujima’s goals, activities, events, and workshops as being well-aligned with all of that.”
How does your role as a delegate ensure that the community's voice is represented in investment decisions?
I get a chance to review these businesses, but also to review what the community had to say about them. Beyond just, “which of these businesses have I seen involved in the community,” which is a very important aspect of it, I also get to see the people who submitted these businesses, and ask what about these businesses was relevant to them—what was important? For example, somebody highlighted an East Boston mutual aid group that helped provide food and food pantry options to the Muslim community. That aspect of community engagement to me is necessary; otherwise, this mutual aid group probably would have gone under the radar.
[Throughout my time as a Delegate] I was grateful to speak to Ujima staff and membership. We had a session where we debriefed on the businesses, our thoughts, our concerns, and what we wanted to do further research on. That's really important! For example: let's say I pitch a business and somebody else who's a delegate might not necessarily know much about the business, to be able to say, “Well, I would like further research on how this is actually helping the community or not.” Because I have a stake in what the outcome of that decision is, I can ask for that, so I can be sure that an investment is aligned with community needs.
How has your experience as a delegate deepened your understanding of the relationship between shared decision making and fostering a sense of communal ownership over investment outcomes?
As someone who grew up in Boston, I don't think there's many opportunities for what most folks should be able to do: decide on what should be happening in their community and who to give money to—especially not in the areas of Boston that I grew up in: Mattapan, Dorchester and Hyde Park. Rather than Ujima saying, ‘well, we have this investment, we'll just do it’, having someone like me, who's from the community, who has experiences with some of the businesses, coming in as a delegate—I think that is a multi-layered approach. The person who nominated the business for us to vote on has ownership over that piece of the process, and then I have ownership over the piece where I'm voting as delegate. That multi-layered, shared decision-making is really powerful to have and to demonstrate that there are ways that we can come together and kind of decide what we want to see.
Lyse Fedjanie Barronville (she/li/they) is a Black queer womxn from Haiti who came up in “the other Boston”. As a strategist, innovator, creator, & scholar striving to co-design liberated futures with our communities, Lyse serves as the Executive Director & Strategy of Konbino—short for Konbit Inovasyon (or Innovation Collective in English)—and the Principal Consultant & Facilitator of Abundant Futures Consulting & Incubator Series.
Lyse was recently inducted as the Ambassador of SheBuilds Global Initiative Boston Chapter where she is working to co-curate Ecosystem Builders events highlighting Haitianwomxn in the Boston ecosystem who are building liberated futures and thriving legacies for those that will follow behind them. She holds a BA in sociology/public health and an MS in management, both from Boston University, and is currently researching Afro/indigenous cosmology, spirituality, ecological justice, & liberatory tech/AI as an MTS candidate in Black Theoethics & Womxnist Afrofutures at Iliff School of Theology. Lyse values resting as resistance, laughing as close to “too much” as possible, pursuing peace, cultivating community, and relishing moments of joy.
JAMIAH TAPPIN
How did you first discover Ujima?
I’ve built relationships with a lot of different grassroots organizations here in Boston; that may be how I initially heard about Ujima, just word of mouth through those relationships. I do know that the first time I went to an assembly meeting was in Roxbury, actually; we were voting on one of the early investments. Members of the Investment Committee were leading the process–I was really interested in how they were facilitating a democratic process and how they were creating guidelines and agreed-upon measures. The methods stood out to me: establishing that consensus was how we were going to move forward, outlining how we were going to stay accountable, and then describing how these lead to specific outcomes and voting practices.
I work in public health, in community investment and grant-making: from housing to hospital investments, the key is engaging with community perspectives, particularly in Boston. In one of the grant-making projects, one of our funders was really interested in doing something participatory. I had engaged with Ujima through that meeting I mentioned, and a lightbulb went off: “Oh, this is a really great model for us to really center resident voices, to create a grant-making and review process.” It was a little complicated in the beginning, so we also worked with folks at the Center for Economic Democracy to help us build out our model.
What are your overall thoughts about Ujima’s mission and its approach to
community-driven investment?
I really want to understand decision-making, particularly collective decision-making: what influences how we vote, how we interact with and relate to the folks within our neighborhoods. So often at my day job, I deal with all of these concepts and practices at an institutional level; but the participatory grantmaking process I mentioned is really trying to bridge the dynamic gap between institutions and residents.
With Ujima’s approach to community-driven investment, it's not just that the money is going to help people, it's that this money is specifically given from the community, to the community, for us to collectively decide what is best for us. This communal approach gives investments more personal weight, and it’s possible to feel more personal ownership or investment; you have skin in the game, because it’s a result of your own decision-making. So I’m really sitting with that, and thinking about how we can create more spaces for community empowerment and collective processing and how we can address a lack of civic engagement through building trust.
“Here at Ujima, we convene with our neighbors and build upon those relationships; once you trust your neighbors, you also trust their vote. So now I wonder, how can this idea be scaled up in other arenas where decisions need to be made?”
Does your role as a delegate ensure that the community's voice is represented in investment decisions? And how do you see your role as a delegate ensuring the community's voice is represented in investment decisions?
There's so many spaces that Ujima holds for hearing opinions, questions, and there's a really concerted effort to make sure that folks feel included in the process: this makes my role as a delegate much easier. Because we're co-creating this environment, I feel like there's a lot of space where community is heard. So my position means I'm pushing forward our desires, our wants, our needs, rather than acting as a traditional representative (which may insinuate that I’m speaking for people).
Community ownership suggests a joint stake in the investment journey. How has the delegate program cultivated an environment where every participant feels personally invested in the decisions being made?
I think the delegate program is moreso a streamlining of process than a positioning of power; I like the word delegate here, because it presumes that there is a broader representation, and we as delegates are just the mechanism through which ideas move.
Ujima’s investment approach values collective responsibility; could you share an example of how the delegate group’s decisions collectively held the community's interests at the forefront of investment ratification?
Sure; what comes to mind here is the voting process. It’s iterative and continuous; we participate in one vote, then we collect feedback and prepare for the next vote. There are opportunities here for the broader community to offer different insights on the potential investments that we're going to carry forward; because we move through multiple steps of voting and feedback, when we get to that final decision and we see our final voting package, the package feels entirely inclusive of community interests. This process actually holds us all responsible for making sure that those interests carry water.
Any last thoughts?
Ujima is a really great model for successful and community-based decision-making processes. The addition of the delegates just proves that these processes aren't stale, that there's always new elements and new pieces to incorporate to make shared decision-making easier and more accessible to people. I’m happy that we're continuing to evolve and we're inserting new practices into the model.
Jamiah Tappin is a Director on both the Grantmaking and Health & Racial Equity teams at Health Resources in Action. She spearheads transformative processes that cultivate stronger community—institutional partnerships, shared values rooted in equity, and movement building for collective impact.
Her expertise spans many disciplines, including community organizing, coalition building, advocacy, participatory grantmaking, and facilitation, all viewed through a prism of anti-oppression and anti-racism. In her dual roles, she collaborates with the Community Health Grantmaking team, steering equitable and participatory grantmaking processes like the Innovative Stable Housing Initiative and the MA Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds, as well as partners with the Health Equity in Action team to lead organizational initiatives aimed at disrupting structures of white supremacy culture, fostering an inclusive workplace, and propelling HRiA’s work of advancing health and racial equity.
Before her tenure at HRiA, Jamiah worked in her hometown, Hartford, CT, with youth and residents on issues ranging from public safety, housing issues, and clean neighborhood initiatives. Her advocacy journey also extended to championing equity in education and supporting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Jamiah holds a Master in Social Work from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, and a Bachelors in Communication from Boston University.
MYRNA GREENFIELD
How did you first discover Ujima?
I heard about the Boston Ujima Project through a former colleague of mine, Jonathan Rosenthal; we worked together at Equal Exchange, a worker cooperative. And I was immediately drawn in because I work with small businesses, farms and food-related nonprofits in the Boston and New England area, so I was very excited about the idea of cooperative support for businesses and the connection between business, arts and community—it really resonated with all my values. I've had a lot of concerns about gentrification, and the challenge is that people of color haven’t been able to get credit and get access to land to farm and build equity.
I was also attracted to the fact that it's a Black and brown-led organization; there are so many nonprofits that have been around for ages that started out with white leadership, and it's hard to make the transition when the dominant culture is sort of embedded in the whole DNA of the organization. So it's exciting that Ujima is led by Black and brown people and is welcoming to all who support the vision and values. It's a great model.
I heard you touch upon this, but I wanted to directly ask you: how does Ujima align with your current work and goals?
Sure. I'm particularly interested in the Good Business Alliance work, because I think it's important that we, as a community, support our businesses. I think it's especially important for all the reasons I mentioned to support Black and brown businesses. I've tried to do whatever I can, both personally and professionally to support small businesses and locally owned businesses, because I feel like that has so much resonance and so many benefits for us all, so I try to bring up Ujima when I can and support it when I can.
“I think it's important that we, as a community, support our businesses. I think it's especially important for all the reasons I mentioned to support Black and brown businesses.”
Are there any standout moments that you've had in your journey with Ujima that have made an impression on you?
Well, I think the most powerful moments have been the assemblies I’ve attended; it’s a wondrous experience to be in a room with folks and see democracy and cooperation in action. It can be frustrating and slow and confusing, but I appreciate the creative elements that your team applies to connect people. It is challenging at times; for the first year or two I was involved with Ujima, I came to the Wednesday meetings and was involved with the business support group. I didn't really feel like I was doing anything of value as part of that business support group and I got busy with other things. So I haven't been super involved in the last few years other than voting and participating in meetings, seeing the weekly emails and so on.
What do you enjoy about Ujima’s approach to community driven investments?
I think it's very important that your team supports Black and brown investors, because I think in addition to bringing our own money in, Ujima can also attract other investors and make our investments feel safe. I really appreciate the work of the committee that evaluates the loans, and provides the background information. In some cases, I've known a little bit about the businesses that we've loaned to; in other cases not, but I find that really helpful to understand the context. That's made it a lot easier for me to vote and to weigh in on those decisions.
How has your experience as a delegate deepened your understanding of the relationship between shared decision making and fostering a sense of communal ownership over investment outcomes?
It's our money, including mine, that's in the investment. And even though I have a very modest investment, you know, it still matters to me. So I do feel a strong sense of responsibility. When weighing the investments, I consider ‘how is this going to benefit the community? ‘Is this the best use of our resources?’
Looking ahead, how do you envision the delegate program continuing to uphold the principles of community ownership and shared decision making? And what steps could be taken to further strengthen these ideals?
I think it would be good for Ujima to think about experimenting with some different ways for delegates and members to interact with each other. For those of us who are juggling multiple responsibilities, I would welcome something that's more ad hoc. It wouldn’t have to involve an ongoing commitment, but it'd be an opportunity to hear more. I think there could be one-off meetings or small group gatherings to meet more Ujima members. Early on, I went to more Ujima parties—it was a nice chance to just hang out a little and meet folks. So I would encourage some more unstructured ways that members could interact with each other. There's some very cool people in Ujima that I'd love to get to know better.
Marketing Your Farm author, Myrna Greenfield, is the Top Egg at Good Egg Marketing, a Massachusetts-based business that offers sales and marketing strategies, branding, and digital services for farms and food companies, small businesses, and non-profits. Greenfield hatched Good Egg in 2010 to promote good food and good causes. She’s taught workshops and provided services to more than one thousand farmers.
Greenfield is a board member of Boston Farms Community Land Trust; Boston Farms turns vacant urban land into collective opportunity, supporting neighborhood farmers to grow the food that sustains us. She was a long-time board member of the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts and cofounded the Egleston Farmers Market.
She was raised in the Chicago area and has been a proud resident of Jamaica Plain, MA, for more than thirty years. She holds an MBA from Simmons School of Management.