FirstRepair

KWANZAA & REPARATIONS: IMANI
Meaning: Faith

How it fuels the reparations movement:
Imani is the fuel that sustains us through the long fight for justice. Imani is faith, to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. It is the unshakeable faith that victory is ours. A repaired world is not a dream, but a righteous and achievable reality. We have faith in the leadership of the descendants of the harmed, the power of local governments to act, and the collective will to persist.

As we enter the New Year, renew your Imani in the work for justice.

Happy Kwanzaa from the FirstRepair team!

KWANZAA & REPARATIONS: KUUMBA
Meaning: Creativity—How it fuels the reparations movement:

We work together to make reparations common sense and common place. Kuumba is the spark to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Because no single template exists for repair, we must be creative in designing tangible solutions. From memorializing history, to art and music, poetry and dance, to developing innovative housing programs and new
forms of ownership. We celebrate and uplift the creativity of local leaders who are transforming the inherited wreckage of the past into a more beautiful and beneficial future.

How can you use your unique creativity for community benefit?

KWANZAA & REPARATIONS: UJAMAA
Meaning: Cooperative Economics
How it fuels the reparations movement:
Centuries of systemic exclusion from wealth-building—from housing discrimination to lack of access to capital—have created a massive racial wealth gap. Ujamaa is to build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. Reparations, particularly through direct investment in Black community enterprises, land trusts, and cooperative models, exemplify Ujamaa.