Ujima

UJIMA (oo-JEE-mah) is the third principle of Kwanzaa and means collective work and responsibility. At TU, Ujima is a collective of student organizations whose sole purpose and mission is to educate and uplift students who identify as part of the African Diaspora.

The collective came from a place where black student organizations felt as though they were collectively being discriminated against (for example, over policing at black student events, over taxed and burdened with administrative responsibility, over used in university marketing, their individual voices were not being heard).

Ujima offers a space for students to talk about collective issues and create strategies for addressing them. Two student leaders from the organizations below are selected to facilitate these conversations and coordinate programming along with the Associate Director.

Organizations

  • African Diaspora Club
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
  • Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
  • Bettering Black Minds
  • Black Student Union
  • Brotherhood
  • Caribbean Student Association
  • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
  • Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association
  • Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
  • National Council of Negro Women
  • Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
  • Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
  • Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
  • Sisterhood
  • Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Ujima Retreat

Every summer representatives from the 19 organizations come together to address the unique dynamics involving black leadership on TU’s campus.

Student leaders are guided, challenged and motivated to confront and then reconcile actual and perceived discrimination, disunity among black students and black student organizations, the importance of inter-sectional identities, varying black cultural views, the complexities of maintaining a black identity in a professional environment and the personal development necessary for managing professional conflicts and personal stress.

Past retreats have included the following presentations:

  • “Welcome Address” by the coordinators
  • “Goal Setting and Expectations”
  • “Campus Partnership Panel,” moderated by student and administrative leadership
  • “Towson Black Trivia”
  • “Concurrent Sessions on Budgeting” by the Student Government Association, “Event Logistics” by Events and Conference Services and “Securing Sponsorships” by the Center for Student Diversity Director
  • “Squad Time” for conference attendees