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.