Ujima Graduation Celebrates Black and Indigenous Business Training

Starting a business can be scary – especially for Black/African American and Native/Indigenous owned companies trying to get their footing in Albuquerque.

If only resources were available to help business acclimate to their communities and local culture.

Fortunately, resources are available, and a celebration of those resources are taking place Feb. 19.

The Ujima Collective Work and Responsibility business development training program graduation will be at the Albuquerque Museum from 3-8 pm.

Graduation night commemorates a 10-month, six-hour-per-week in-person course helping businesses gain the skills they need to support a growing team through employment opportunities for members of the immigrant and refugee community.

Eight businesses are in the 2026 graduating class.

“I took this course because I had started a catering company in December 2024, and I had no idea what I was doing,” said Sabrina Williams, owner of Leez Wings restaurant. “I needed help learning how to successfully market a new company, I needed help with creating my menu and pricing structure and I just needed some direction.

“This course changed me in ways I never expected. I learned so much and was connected to so many amazing resources.”

The Ujima Collective offers training for established companies and startups interested in gaining the skills needed to support a growing team through employment opportunities. The collective targets Black/African American and Native/Indigenous owned companies with a mission to incorporate anti-racist practices and a culturally inclusive workplace for all team members.

The collective also supports entrepreneurs from communities of color by teaching inclusive business practices and using the Swahili language to emphasize shared values. Participants create their own Racial Equity Action Plans for their small businesses and learn how working together through partnerships helps everyone succeed.

“Throughout this course I was presented with numerous examples of entrepreneurs who were able to turn their ideas into productive organizations within the community,” Raphael Hill, owner of Sik Wulf Custom Sewing and Upholstery, said. “And that is exactly what I hope to accomplish with my effort.”

Ujima works on creating and developing environments in which traditions of collective work and responsibility raise up Indigenous and African/Black American communities.

“I would strongly recommend Ujima Collective program any day any time to people I know, whether they are business owners or community leader, Dr. Emma Asonye, Chief Executive Officer of Indigenous Hands and Voices, a web-based and mobile app where literacy modules are created from the documented signs. Dr. Asonye was part of the first Ujima Collective graduating class in 2025. “First, it helped me to define and better categorize my business. Second, it helped me know how to organize my personal and business finances. Lastly, it helped me build personal leadership skills.”

The Albuquerque Museum and City of Albuquerque Office of Equity & Inclusion also share as champions of the graduation, which takes place on the museum’s monthly Third Thursday monthly series.

“We can only measure success through the voices of those who have been harmed, and then work to reengineer a system that was not created by or for us, but requires us to lead in its reform, “ said Neema Pickett, Office of Black Community Engagement Liaison with in the CABQ Office of Equity & Inclusion. “This program challenges the core of business owners and empowers them to take a new approach as they lead their teams to success.”

Deleso A. Alford, J.D., LL.M., is the graduation’s keynote speaker. She is the University of New Mexico DEI Humanity Matters Visiting Professor. Wassa Wassa will perform West African drumming and acrobatic dance during the celebration.