07 Jun In the Spotlight: Ujamaa Collective Fuels Empowerment and Cooperation
UJAMAA COLLECTIVE: WHERE PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT FUELS COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS
InflexionPoint Podcast
Episode 86 | June 4, 2025
Tune in to the latest episode of InflexionPoint Podcast where we are dedicated to the art of listening in authentic conversation on a variety of topics related to community gnagement.
In this episode of InflexionPoint Podcast the core question is this:
How Does Personal Empowerment Fuel Cooperative Economics?
2025 Theme: Community Engagement and the Grassroots of Change
The relationship between personal empowerment and cooperative economics is dynamic and mutually reinforcing. Both are essential for transforming individuals from passive participants in economic systems to active co-creators of collective well-being.
Personal Empowerment begins with an individual recognizing their inherent worth, capabilities, and the power to make choices that impact their life and community. It cultivates self-awareness, responsibility, and action. Cooperative Economics channels that personal power into collective agency by providing structures—like cooperatives, credit unions, and mutual aid networks—that allow individuals to pool resources, share risks, and make collective decisions for mutual benefit.
Call to Action
#StayWOKE – Well-informed. Open-minded. Kind. Empathetic.
#VOTE – Voices Organized To Empower.
The Ujamaa Collective stands on these 5 core principles:
Fair trade. Meaningful Work. Community. Creativity. Wellness.
Segment 1 -
Guest Introduction: LaKeisha Wolf, Executive Director at Ujamaa Collective
LaKeisha Wolf is a cultural worker, creative entrepreneur, and teaching artist with an emphasis on identity, racial justice, community connection, and whole-body wellness.
As a first-generation Pittsburgher, LaKeisha developed her roots across the community, working at the intersection of arts and culture, social entrepreneurship, and community development and wellness for 20 years. She is a founding member of the Ujamaa Collective and has served as Executive Director since 2013.
In this role, LaKeisha focuses on the agency’s business affairs, including the cooperative development of emerging Africana women-owned craft industries, and maintaining an artisans’ retail boutique in conjunction with creative community programming. She initiated the organization’s first direct, fair trade relationship in East Africa.
LaKeisha has been immersed in the world of cooperative economics for over two decades, learning with organizations such as NASCO Institute’s Emerging Cooperative Leaders Program, and the Eastern Conference on Workplace Democracy, and serving as a panelist for the National Cooperative Business Association. She previously served as a board member for the East End Food Co-op’s Federal Credit Union and currently serves on the board for the Hill District Federal Credit Union, the advisory board for the Pittsburgh Black Worker Center, and is a founding member of the National Association of Black Cooperators.
Segment 2 - From Self to Solidarity: How Does Personal Empowerment Fuel Cooperative Economics?
The relationship between personal empowerment and cooperative economics is dynamic and mutually reinforcing. Both are essential for transforming individuals from passive participants (self) in economic systems to active co-creators of collective well-being (solidarity).
- Shift from individualism to collective agency
- Break from dependency on extractive systems
- Value-based participation
Segment 3 - Personal Empowerment Alone Is Not Enough
Personal empowerment alone is not enough: making the shift to cooperative economics is dynamic an mutually reinforcing.
Documentary Film: The Barber of Little Rock Documentary Film: One Man’s Fight to Close the Racial Wealth Gap, in “The Barber of Little Rock” John Hoffman and Christine Turner’s short film follows Arlo Washington as he helps members of his community escape the hazards of banking while Black. “There has to be economic warriors in the community to create economic justice…my purpose in life is to advance equity, and create opportunities, and build the community.”
People Trust Bank – the only Black-owned bank in the state of Arkansas
The Bridge: From Self-Awareness to Collective Action
True personal empowerment is more than self-improvement. It is the recognition that our personal power increases when connected to others through shared values, collective effort, and democratic participation. Empowered individuals begin to ask: Who benefits from me acting alone? What would change if I joined forces with others? How can my personal power multiply through collective action?
Segment 4 - Final Reflection and Call to Action
Ujamaa Collective is embarking on a transformative journey to secure a permanent home in the heart of Pittsburgh—a space designed to nurture creativity, sustain cooperative entrepreneurship, and expand opportunities for artisans and the broader community. With your partnership, we are confident in bringing this bold vision to life through our concurrent capital campaign, Building the Future.
Words of Wisdom
“The strength of Ujamaa Collective lies in its proven ability to turn vision into reality. Our history of success, coupled with the determination and resilience of our artisans and supporters, assures us that this campaign will establish the foundation for a thriving, innovative home.”
Take Action. Get Involved.
Building Our Shared Future Collective Capital Campaign
Ujamaa Collective is embarking upon a transformative journey to secure a permanent home in the heart of Pittsburgh—a space designed to nurture creativity, sustain cooperative entrepreneurship, and expand opportunities for artisans and the broader community. With your partnership, we are confident in bringing this bold vision to life through our concurrent capital campaign, Building the Future.
Learn More About InflexionPoint Podcast
Inflexionpoint Podcast exists for the express purpose of highlighting work done by individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, organizations, educators, and creatives whose antiracism activation work contributes to empowering historical and racial literacy for the purpose of achieving social, health, and economic equity.
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