Archives & Special Collections

Umoja - A Pioneering NMSU Journal

In March 1973, the directors of the Black Studies programs at three New Mexico public universities met in Las Cruces to finalize plans to produce a scholarly journal devoted to Black life in the American Southwest.  Earl A. Cash, the first director of NMSU’s Black Programs, joined with Cortez Williams of New Mexico Highlands University and Willie Criddle of the University of New Mexico, over two days to hammer out the details. (1)  The three schools contributed funds to launch the fledgling publication, which would initially publish on a triannual basis with the hopes of later moving to a more ambitious quarterly schedule. (2)

With Dr. Cash serving as editor, the journal was envisioned to appeal to the non-academician with articles on history, economics, literary works, and other subjects, along with political commentary and poetry. Distributed mainly to regional university libraries and ethnic studies programs, the journal also offered subscriptions of $4.50 a year to interested parties. While the subject of articles would be restricted, that is to Black life, contributors did not have to be from the southwest and could identify with any “race, creed, sex, or national origin.”

Cover of inaugral issue of Umoja, 1973

Umoja, as the new cooperative journal was titled, comes from the Swahili word for unity.  Cash commented, “The journal was started because we felt that New Mexico had no such journal depicting Black life, so we felt we could encourage Blacks to write through this publication.” (3) All three universities had established service programs in the years prior to provide academic support and build connections among Black students, and, just as critical, to create awareness and appreciation of Black history across campus through “cultural, social, and academic programs”. (4)  Cash and his director colleagues likely saw the journal as an opportunity to help fend off the ignorance that many Black students in New Mexico faced. “White students and faculty tend to know very little about their Black counterparts.  Certainly, they have broad and sweeping conceptions of what Black students are all about, but quite frequently these conceptions prove inadequate and border too readily on the stereotypical,” wrote Cash just months before finalizing the plans for Umoja. (5) Could the new publication help combat this general ignorance?

Released on May 1, 1973, the first issue of Umoja included six articles and one book review.  The 29-page publication – formally volume 1 issue 1 Spring 1973 – saw submissions from staff and faculty at the three state institutions.  The issue boldly tackled topics from institutional racism and sexuality in race relations to Blacks in the American Revolution and how Black athletes were viewed across the globe.  A second issue followed in the summer and it provided evidence that the editors were growing into their roles. The slick journal showed a diverse authorship and an attention and polish to design details found in academic publications of the day.  Among the items featured were poetry, a history of Black migration to Albuquerque in the early 1900s, and a lengthy interview with famed writer Frank Hercules regarding his controversial book, American Society and Black Revolution.  Hercules’ work examined “the black man's condition over three hundred years of American history,” and the roles that luminaries like Malcom X, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and others played in the country’s history.  

Round Up, April 30, 1973, page 3

The editorial comment found in the second issue provided insight into what Cash hoped Umoja could become:

Assuming to be true the premise that knowledge and understanding precede love, a prerequisite for unity, Umoja hopes it can be a catalyst in contributing to a unified Black populus (sic) not just in the Americas but in Africa and the Caribbean as well.  Its method will be the inclusion of articles about Black life which may inform, delight, disturb, - or provoke deeper thought.  Without being unnecessarily sensationalistic and abiding by a reverence for accuracy and excellence, it shall aim to assist in increasing man’s knowledge of his fellow man.  When it can be observed that all men share the tragedy and the ecstacy (sic) of a common humanity, then unity among man, race, and nation will begin to have a chance of success.

He closed his remarks noting that the journal would shift to a quarterly schedule with production now taking place in New York City.  Unfortunately, this would be the final issue of Umoja published by New Mexico State University.

The full story of what happened to Umoja at NMSU is, at the date of this blog post, unknown.  Cash attempted to independently continue the publication, likely after the loss of financial support from the three New Mexico universities.  Why the money dried up can only be speculated.  The journal eventually found a home at the University of Colorado under the aegis of the university’s Black Studies Program. (6)  In the spring of 1977, now under the editorial leadership of Edward C. Okwu, the first issue of new journal, Umoja: A Scholarly Journal of Black Studies, appeared.  At that time, it was one of only a few publications dedicated to the academic investigation of the experience of Black peoples around the world. (7) The final issue of Umoja was published in 1982.

Despite its short run, Umoja holds a unique place as a pioneering Black Studies journal, one born in the Land of Enchantment.  A copy of the issues produced at NMSU can be found in Branson Library in Special Collections for review: E185.5 .U56.  The three men who nurtured the journal into reality went on to have esteemed careers:  Cash left NMSU to pursue a law degree and today provides legal consultations; Criddle worked in academia, including at his alma mater, Texas Southern University, before passing in 2002; and Williams is an emeritus professor of African American Studies at the University of New Mexico.