The seven-day celebration of Kwanzaa offers more than just a holiday ritual. It provides a roadmap for community excellence.
Dr. Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the Civil Rights Movement. He designed this celebration to honor African American culture and promote unity.
Today, Kwanzaa’s principles speak directly to our struggles and hopes in New Orleans. These seven powerful values can guide our community toward positive change.
The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa
Umoja (Unity) calls us to stand together as family, community, and people. This principle builds strong foundations for collective action.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) empowers us to define ourselves rather than be defined by others. Through this principle, we write our own story.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) teaches us that our community’s problems belong to all of us. Together, we must find solutions.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) encourages us to build and maintain our own stores, shops, and businesses. This principle creates true economic power.
Nia (Purpose) reminds us to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Every action should build up our community.
Kuumba (Creativity) pushes us to leave our community more beautiful than we found it. Innovation drives progress.
Imani (Faith) grounds us in the righteousness of our struggle. This principle gives us strength to believe in our people.
BlackSourceMedia Commits to Ujima
At BlackSourceMedia, we see Ujima as our guiding light for 2025. Collective Work and Responsibility aligns perfectly with our mission.
Every month, we will showcase community solutions through the lens of Ujima. This principle demands action from all of us.
Our coverage already focuses on key issues like mass incarceration, education, and economic development. Ujima teaches us these challenges require everyone’s involvement.
We choose Ujima because it matches our core belief: New Orleans rises when we work together. No one stands alone in our community.
Making Ujima Work in New Orleans
BlackSourceMedia will highlight local examples of Ujima each month. We’ll feature organizations and individuals who embody collective responsibility.
Our readers will learn practical ways to practice Ujima in their daily lives. Small actions create big changes when we work together.
We’ll track community progress throughout the year. Success stories will show Ujima’s power in real time.
Join Us in This Journey
Kwanzaa’s principles offer more than seasonal celebration. They provide year-round guidance for community building.
Every story we publish will reflect Ujima’s spirit of shared responsibility. We invite you to participate in this important work.
Together, we’ll create solutions for a stronger New Orleans. Our collective effort makes real change possible.
Share your Ujima stories with us. Tell us how you’re working to improve our community.
BlackSourceMedia commits to this principle because we believe in our city’s potential. Through Ujima, we’ll build the New Orleans we deserve.
Let’s make Kwanzaa’s wisdom work for us every day. The time for collective action is now.
Visit BlackSourceMedia.com regularly for updates on our Ujima journey. Your voice and actions matter in this important work.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu