Community Care Systems in Boston Inspired by bell hooks

The Boston Ujima Project, a member-run organization committed to building cooperative economic infrastructure and supporting working-class communities of color, drew inspiration from the work of bell hooks, a prominent Black feminist scholar. The project sought to explore the idea of community care and its significance in supporting marginalized people in the city.

Hooks’s legacy stands out because she focused on fighting against structural and institutional oppression through community care. She emphasized that care is a crucial aspect of love, which involves commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect, and trust.

Boston, like many other cities, faces challenges in caring for its most marginalized residents. Issues such as housing shortages, food insecurity, and the cost of living crisis were already pressing concerns before the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of climate change in the coming decade are likely to deepen the need for better care systems. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, the cost-of-living crisis is currently the most urgent risk to human well-being, with the climate crisis projected to become the most urgent in the next ten years.

The Ujima Project recognized the financial hardship exacerbated by the pandemic and established a mutual aid fund to provide support to those in need, grounded in mutual respect for the collective well-being of the community.

Community care systems can take various forms, such as time banks to value neighborhood resources, community-owned grocery stores catering to specific needs, or Ujima's own work culture promoting community care. The project organized an assembly titled “All About Love: Community Care Systems” in April 2023 to explore different facets of care in communities.

Through curated workshops, lectures, and discussions, the assembly covered diverse topics like queer joy, emergency response systems, caring for survivors of homicide, and building thriving queer communities. Men’s work was also examined, focusing on dismantling sexism and gendered oppression.

Curtis, culture and communications manager for the Ujima Project, stressed that everyone has a role to play in community care. Black communities have a rich history of philanthropy, mutual aid, and care work that often goes unrecognized. Several projects in Boston, such as the Black Men’s Collective and the Black Men’s Engagement Network, center around men doing feminist work to dismantle oppressive systems.

For those interested in supporting community care, Curtis suggests starting by asking others what they need and avoiding assumptions. She highlights that Black communities have always taken care of their own, contributing to the history of philanthropy and cooperative movements.

🔭   This summary was human-edited with AI-assist.