Kwanzaa Day Four Principle: Ujamaa

Habari gani?! Ujamaa! To build and maintain our stores and other businesses and to profit from them together. The idea of the black entrepreneur has always intrigued me, from the very first time I picked up a discarded copy of Black Enterprise magazine at my campus student union to the vast array of green business opportunities presenting themselves to our community at this moment. At Ohio State University, while working for the Office of Black Student Programming, I put together a seminar titled "Black and in the Green" (sound familiar?), which served the purpose of introducing the student and surrounding community to the idea of entrepreneurship. Two businesses were birthed as a result! As I think about it, I may just recycle that concept with a green twist, "Go Green, Black Businesses, Go Green." I have written on this topic in the past and profiled black and green businesses. I would love to profile more in 2009. A few projects that I want to highlight today:

• Ananda Leeke, founder of Go Green Sangha Radio and BAP Living, has authored a new book, Love's Troubadours. The novel chronicles the life adventures of a Bohemian, Black African Princess. It is part one of an exciting and intriguing series. Copies are selling fast! Get one today!

• blackEnergy, a triple bottom line business, owned by Dr. Sonja Ebron, offers a wide variety of energy saving products and services in addition to utility services. Lighting, power generation, fans, weatherization - you name it you can find it at blackEnergy.

• Van Jones, well known black and green, environmental justice/economy guru has also written a book, The Green Collar Economy, which highlights the opportunities that the green economy can provide for the black community, especially the economically disavantaged.

• Black and Into Green has an amazing eco-friendly portal for purchasing green products of all kinds (including those of the featured authors), via the Amazon Shop Green widget found on the site. Click here for some end of the year deals!

So in the spirit of Ujamaa, recycle your hard earned dollars with these entrepreneurs and buy black, green and local.

Peace.