#Africa Umoja

[womeninfictionandirl]

Jane Nomugen Lengope, co-founder of the Umoja women’s village

[meccaakagrimo]

❤️🖤💚 Habari Gani !? Happy Kwanzaa - Umoja (oo-moh-jah) ~ Unity ~ To strive for and maintain unity in the Family, Community, Nation and Race. #Day1 #HabariGani #Umoja #Unity #HappyKwanzaa #Culture #Heritage #Tradition #NguzuSaba #SevenPrinciples #Kiara #MishumaaSaba #Mkeka #Muhindi #KikombeChaUmoja #Karamu #Zawadi #Harambee #1966 Kwanzaa ye iwe na heri #Africa #RedBlackGreen #RBG #TeamMarcelin #M_Generation #ReunionFaitLaForce #TeamKwanzaa2016 #TeamKwanzaa2017 #TeamKwanzaa2018 #TeamKwanzaa2019 #TeamKwanzaa2022 🌽🌽🌽🌽 (at Broward County, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmpUGHGOqHH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[txttletale]

niceys positive anon!! i don't agree with you on everything but you are so clearly like well read and well rounded that you've helped me think through a lot of my own inconsistencies and hypocrises in my own political and social thought, even if i do have slightly different conclusions at times then u (mainly because i believe there's more of a place for idealism and 'mind politics' than u do). anyway this is a preamble to ask if you have recommended reading in the past and if not if you had any recommended reading? there's some obvious like Read Marx but beyond that im always a little lost wading through theory and given you seem well read and i always admire your takes, i wondered about your recs

it's been a while since i've done a big reading list post so--bearing in mind that my specific areas of 'expertise' (i say that in huge quotation marks obvsies i'm just a girlblogger) are imperialism and media studies, here are some books and essays/pamphlets i recommend. the bolded ones are ones that i consider foundational to my politics

BASICS OF MARXISM

friedrich engels, principles of commmunism

friedrich engels, socialism: utopian & scientific

karl marx, the german ideology

karl marx, wage labour & capital

mao zedong, on contradiction

nikolai bukharin, anarchy and scientific communism

rosa luxemburg, reform or revolution?

v.i lenin, left-wing communism: an infantile disorder

v.i. lenin, the state & revolution

v.i. lenin, what is to be done?

IMPERIALISM

aijaz ahmed, iraq, afghanistan, and the imperialism of our time

albert memmi, the colonizer and the colonized

che guevara, on socialism and internationalism (ed. aijaz ahmad)

eduardo galeano, the open veins of latin america

edward said, orientalism

fernando cardoso, dependency and development in latin america

frantz fanon, black skin, white masks

frantz fanon, the wretched of the earth

greg grandin, empire's workshop

kwame nkrumah, neocolonialism, the last stage of imperialism

michael parenti, against empire

naomi klein, the shock doctrine

ruy mauro marini, the dialectics of dependency

v.i. lenin, imperialism: the highest stage of capitalism

vijay prashad, red star over the third world

vincent bevins, the jakarta method

walter rodney, how europe underdeveloped africa

william blum, killing hope

zak cope, divided world divided class

zak cope, the wealth of (some) nations

MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES

antonio gramsci, the prison notebooks

ed. mick gidley, representing others: white views of indigenous peoples

ed. stuart hall, representation: cultural representations and signifying pratices

gilles deleuze & felix guattari, capitalism & schizophrenia

jacques derrida, margins of philosophy

jacques derrida, speech and phenomena

michael parenti, inventing reality

michel foucault, disicipline and punish

michel foucault, the archeology of knowledge

natasha schull, addiction by design

nick snricek, platform capitalism

noam chomsky and edward herman, manufacturing consent

regis tove stella, imagining the other

richard sennett and jonathan cobb, the hidden injuries of class

safiya umoja noble, algoriths of oppression

stuart hall, cultural studies 1983: a theoretical history

theodor adorno and max horkheimer, the culture industry

walter benjamin, the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction

OTHER

angela davis, women, race, and class

anna louise strong, cash and violence in laos and vietnam

anna louise strong, the soviets expected it

anna louise strong, when serfs stood up in tibet

carrie hamilton, sexual revolutions in cuba

chris chitty, sexual hegemony

christian fuchs, theorizing and analysing digital labor

eds. jules joanne gleeson and elle o'rourke, transgender marxism

elaine scarry, the body in pain

jules joanne gleeson, this infamous proposal

michael parenti, blackshirts & reds

paulo freire, pedagogy of the oppressed

peter drucker, warped: gay normality and queer anticapitalism

rosemary hennessy, profit and pleasure

sophie lewis, abolish the family

suzy kim, everyday life in the north korean revolution

walter rodney, the russian revolution: a view from the third world

[viadescioism]

Kwanzaa:

Kwanzaa, an annual holiday celebrated primarily in the United States from December 26 to January 1, emphasizes the importance of pan-African family and social values. It was devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, Inspired by Africa’s harvest celebrations, he decided to develop a nonreligious holiday that would stress the importance of family and community while giving African Americans an opportunity to explore their African identities. Kwanzaa arose from the black nationalist movement of the 1960s and was created to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage. The holiday honors African American people, their struggles in the United States, their heritage, and their culture. Kwanzaa's practices and symbolism are deeply rooted in African traditions and emphasize community, family, and cultural pride. It's a time for reflection, celebration, and the nurturing of cultural identity within the African American community.

Kwanzaa is a blend of various African cultures, reflecting the experience of many African Americans who cannot trace their exact origins; thus, it is not specific to any one African culture or region. The inclusiveness of Kwanzaa allows for a broader celebration of African heritage and identity.

Karenga created Kwanzaa during the aftermath of the Watts riots as a non-Christian, specifically African-American, holiday. His goal was to give black people an alternative to Christmas and an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than imitating the practices of the dominant society. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," meaning "first fruits," and is based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. The holiday was first celebrated in 1966.

Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the seven principles (Nguzo Saba), which are central values of African culture that contribute to building and reinforcing community among African Americans. These principles include Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). Each family celebrates Kwanzaa in its own way, but Celebrations often include songs, dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry readings, and a large traditional meal. The holiday concludes with a communal feast called Karamu, usually held on the sixth day​​​​.

Kwanzaa is more than just a celebration; it's a spiritual journey to heal, explore, and learn from African heritage. The holiday emphasizes the importance of community and the role of children, who are considered seed bearers of cultural values and practices for the next generation. Kwanzaa is not just a holiday; it's a period of introspection and celebration of African-American identity and culture, allowing for a deeper understanding and appreciation of ancestral roots. This celebration is a testament to the resilience and enduring spirit of the African-American community.

"Kwanzaa," Encyclopaedia Britannica, last modified December 23, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kwanzaa.

"Kwanzaa - Meaning, Candles & Principles," HISTORY, accessed December 25, 2023, https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/kwanzaa-history.

"Kwanzaa," Wikipedia, last modified December 25, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa.

"Kwanzaa," National Museum of African American History and Culture, accessed December 25, 2023, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/kwanzaa.

"The First Kwanzaa," HISTORY.com, accessed December 25, 2023, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-kwanzaa.

My Daily Kwanzaa, blog, accessed December 25, 2023, https://mydailykwanzaa.wordpress.com.

Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press, 1998), ISBN 0-943412-21-8.

"Kente Cloth," African Journey, Project Exploration, accessed December 25, 2023, https://projectexploration.org.

Expert Village, "Kwanzaa Traditions & Customs: Kwanzaa Symbols," YouTube video, accessed December 25, 2023, [Link to the specific YouTube video]. (Note: The exact URL for the YouTube video is needed for a complete citation).

"Official Kwanzaa Website," accessed December 25, 2023, https://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.html.

Michelle, Lavanda. "Let's Talk Kwanzaa: Unwrapping the Good Vibes." Lavanda Michelle, December 13, 2023. https://lavandamichelle.com/2023/12/13/lets-talk-kwanzaa-unwrapping-the-good-vibes/.

[ausetkmt]

We Will Shoot Back: History of Armed Resistance - Republic of New Africa

Watch THE VIDEO FIRST AND ALSO THE BOOK - Get The FACTS

to accompany the video we give you the book - yes you can download it from THE BLACK TRUEBRARY

We Will Shoot Back: History of Armed Resistance - RNA

We Will Shoot Back: History of Armed Resistance - Republic of New Africa

click the title link to download the book for free from THE BLACK TRUEBRARY

In We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, Akinyele Omowale Umoja argues that armed resistance was critical to the Southern freedom struggle and the dismantling of segregation and Black disenfranchisement.

Intimidation and fear were central to the system of oppression in most of the Deep South. To overcome the system of segregation, Black people had to overcome fear to present a significant challenge to White domination.

As the civil rights movement developed, armed self-defense and resistance became a significant means by which the descendants of enslaved Africans overturned fear and intimidation and developed different political and social relationships between Black and White Mississippians.

This riveting historical narrative reconstructs the armed resistance of Black activists, their challenge of racist terrorism, and their fight for human rights.

click the title link to download the book for free from THE BLACK TRUEBRARY

[ptseti]

The land of no men

#africa #african #kenya #women #umoja #maasai #samburu #history #africanwoman

[90363462]

Happy Kwanzaa!

#Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26th through January 1st, the origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

Each day is started with this greeting: Habari Gani - What is the news? The reply is the ‘Nguzo Saba’ (principle) for that day. They are listed in order here:

Umoja - Unity

Kujichagulia - Self Determination

Ujima - Collective Work & Responsibility

Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics

Nia - Purpose

Kuumba - Creativity

Imani - Faith

The first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and appear in ancient and modern times in other classical African civilizations such as Ashantiland and Yorubaland. These celebrations are also found in ancient and modern times among societies as large as empires like the Zulu kingdoms (Swaziland) or smaller societies and groups like the Matabele, Thonga and Lovedu, all of southeastern Africa. Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental African "first fruit" celebrations: ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment; and celebration. Kwanzaa, then, is:

• a time of ingathering of the people to reaffirm the bonds between them;

• a time of special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation;

• a time for commemoration of the past in pursuit of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence, our ancestors;

• a time of recommitment to our highest cultural ideals in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice; and

• a time for celebration of the Good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social.

Kwanzaa was established in 1966 in the midst of the Black Freedom Movement and thus reflects its concern for cultural groundedness in thought and practice, and the unity and self-determination associated with this. It was conceived and established to serve several functions.

Finally, Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one, thus available to and practiced by Africans of all religious faiths who come together based on the rich, ancient and varied common ground of their Africanness.

Courtesy of:

http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/origins1.shtml

[whenweallvote]

December 26 marks the first day of Kwanzaa — today we’re reflecting on the unity of our allies, partners and volunteers in the fight for voting rights.

For those who might not know: Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival, founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga as a pushback on the commercialism of Christmas and a way for Black Americans to celebrate the holiday through community building practices shared across the continent of Africa. The week is grounded is five central sets of values: ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment and celebration.

Each day of #Kwanzaa is a celebration of a unique principle (the Nguzo Saba). The celebration always begins on 12/26 with Umoja (oo-MOH-ja) — unity.

[burlveneer-music]

My WVUD playlist and stream, 2/25/2023

Delfeayo Marsalis & Uptown Jazz Orchestra - Carnival Time Stooges Brass Band - Good Livin' Rebirth Brass Band - (I Feel Like) Bustin Loose (Live) Preservation Hall Jazz Band - La Malanga Dixie Cups - Iko Iko / Brother John / Saints Go Marching In The Dirty Dozen Brass Band & Robert Randolph - Cissy Strut Phillybloco - All On a Mardi Gras Day Angel Bat Dawid - RECORDARE-Recall the Joy Art Ensemble of Chicago - I Greet You With Open Arms Griots Wa Umoja - Trip To Africa Young Fathers - Ululation Lijadu Sisters - Bayi L'ense 3rd Generation Band - Obiye Saa Wui Verckys et l´Orchestre Vévé - Bassala Hot Witch - Waile Experience Unlimited - Free Yourself Grant Phabao Afrofunk Arkestra - Wonk Cymande - Dove Lakecia Benjamin - Phoenix (feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow)

(listen on Mixcloud)

[travelinfo120]

With cloud spend continuing to surge, tech companies are scrambling to meet demand for the necessary infrastructure, with the growing need for AI compute only adding fuel to the fire. By way of example, Microsoft and BlackRock have created a $30 billion fund to support new data centers and energy infrastructure for the burgeoning AI boom, and Meta is planning a new $10 billion subsea cable that will span the entire globe. Google, for its part, recently announced Umoja, the first subsea fiber-optic cable to connect Africa and Australia — and it’s joining a $90 million funding round into Cassava Technologies, one of the partner companies involved in the Umoja project. With its first African data center operational for a year, among other infrastructure projects such as the Equiano subsea cable, Google confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s now taking a direct equity stake in Cassava, though it didn’t provide comment on the rationale behind the investment. However, it’s clear that it’s looking to improve infrastructure across the continent. Indeed, Africa has been hit by widespread outages throughout 2024, which have been attributed to faulty undersea cables, so it makes sense that Google would want to fund efforts to bolster connectivity for consumers and businesses that might want to use its services. Cassava announced $310 million in funding overall, though $220 million of that is in the form of a credit facility for one of its subsidiaries. The $90 million equity tranche included investments from the U.S. federal government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); Finnish development finance company Finnfund; and Google itself. The funding will help Cassava: “… strengthen its balance sheet, drive sustainable profitable growth, and cement its position as a global technology company of African heritage,” according to a press release that also detailed a broader reorganization of the company. “It’s a pivotal milestone that we expect to unlock immense value and catalyze the further expansion of our digital infrastructure and services to bridge the digital divide on the continent,” Cassava CEO and President Hardy Pemhiwa (pictured above) said. Liquid assets African telecommunication company Econet spun out Cassava in 2021, serving as a standalone business for Econet’s various digital services and infrastructure initiatives spanning data centers, fiber broadband networks, renewable energy, cloud, cybersecurity, and more. Although Africa is a major focal point for Cassava, it also operates across other “key growth markets” including the Middle East, India, and Latin America. Among its business units is Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which worked with Google to build the terrestrial segment of Umoja; the cable starts in Kenya, and snakes through the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, before concluding its land journey in South Africa. Separately, another of Cassava’s business units, Liquid C2, this year announced a partnership with Google and Anthropic to bring “advanced cloud, cybersecurity solutions, and generative AI” services to companies across Africa. This constituted part of Google’s previous commitment to invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital economy. “Businesses are increasingly turning to generative AI to drive operational efficiencies, improve the customer experience, and empower their employees like never before,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said of its partnership with Liquid C2 at the time. “This partnership has the opportunity to transform how African businesses serve and engage their customers as we provide them a foundation for innovation.”

[womeninfictionandirl]

Daina Lekanta of the Umoja women’s village

[earthphoenixstories]

Anti-Racism Reading List

This is by no means a comprehensive list. It is however, a good start.

- White Rage by Carol Anderson

- Black Trans Feminism by Marquis Bay

- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

- Dear White America by Tim Wise

- Black Looks by bell hooks

- Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Stings

- Medical Bondage by Deirdre Cooper Owens

- White Tears/Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad

- Freedom Is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y Davis

- The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t and Why by Jabari Asim

- Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Micheal Bennett

- Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Power by Ijeoma Oluo

- On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

- How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

- Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble

- So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

- What White People Can Do Next by Emma Dabiri

- We Are Not Yet Equal by Carol Anderson

- How to be Anti-Racist by Ibram X.Kendi

- Articulate While Black by H. Samy Alim & Genera Smitherman

[mfidie]

Google to Build First Subsea Cable Connecting Africa and Australia

Google has announced plans to build the first subsea cable linking Africa and Australia. Named the Umoja cable, it will connect Western Australia with South Africa, enhancing global and regional digital infrastructure. Key Project Details The Umoja cable will include a terrestrial route from South Africa to Kenya, passing through Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and…

[kylanjosephs-blog]

The Black Candle

"The Black Candle" is a 2008 documentary film directed by MK Asante and narrated by the renowned poet Maya Angelou. The film explores the history and significance of Kwanzaa, a cultural holiday that celebrates African-American heritage and values. The documentary traces Kwanzaa's origins from the Black Power Movement of the 1960s to its contemporary practice as a global celebration embraced by millions. It delves into the seven principles��of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith, highlighting their relevance and importance to the African-American community today. I thought it was cool and inspiring that it was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966. The film was not only vibrant with all of its imagery but it was well put together to make a really good cohesive story. Each clip that was shown had a purpose within the film to help better the narrative and information about Kwanzaa, which I think was well done. Even the cuts and duration of the film were done well, as the movie was only 71 minutes long. But the documentary gave a lot of insight about Kwanzaa I didn't know about, I didn't even know that it was made for African-American brilliance. I always thought it was a white culture thing and never looked more into it because I thought it wouldn't apply to me. I'm glad I was shown this film because it gave me a better understanding of Kwanzaa itself, and what it represents. I also learned about the seven days of Kwanzaa and what it means, since I wasn't interested before. Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. I thought this was truly special and a rule to stay by because family is indeed important as well as the community you build and stay in. Kujichagulia (Self-determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves. This teaching is good for establishing yourself as an individual and giving yourself a voice, which I thought was cool. Ujima (Collective work and responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and solve them together. Another good teaching is to help each other and better everyone around you, i thought this teaching was cool to learn. Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): To build and maintain our stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. I thought this was cool to learn about because it references that if the black community uses the money that they typically use at higher-end stores in black-owned stores it will further help the growth of others. The last three Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith) were all enjoyable to learn about and the purpose behind them. I'm really glad I took the time to learn about such a wonderful holiday I didn't previously realize. 

[sistahscifi]

Habari gani ?!? Ujima!

UJIMA: Means collective work and responsibility to build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.

We selected Africa Risen. From award-winning editorial team Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight comes an anthology of thirty-two original stories showcasing the breadth of fantasy and science fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora.

@shereereneethomas @tordotcompub  @penprice @authorzknight

Help us amplify the celebration of Kwanzaa! Please share on @Facebook, @Instagram, @TikTok, and/or @Twitter and tag @SistahScifi!

#SistahScifi

#Kwanzaa

#Kwanzaa2023

#UJAMAA

#UMOJA

#KUJICHAGULIA

#IMANI

#UJIMA

#KUUMBA

#NIA