Chapter 2: Zimbabwe: The Cultural Confluence of Ubuntu: A Journey from Zimbabwe to Global Educational Leader in the United States

I was born and raised in the southwestern part of rural Zimbabwe to an ethnic group called the Birwa (see Figure 2.1). A branch of the Sotho-Tswana people and part of the Bantu African group, the Birwa settled at the confluence of the Shashi-Tuli and the Limpopo rivers for generations. Widely practiced in the region, the ubuntu philosophy informed my upbringing and was a core principle in my family and community.

When the British took control of this region of Africa by conquest, they made artificial boundaries and divided ethnic groups into separate entities. My primary education was thus influenced by both the teachings of my parents and elders in the village and the Lutheran Church via Swedish missionaries. The concepts and values taught in our classes and catechism lessons were complimentary to those emphasized in ubuntu.Nussbaum (2003) defines ubuntu as the “capacity to express compassion, reciprocity, dignity, harmony, and humanity in the interest of building and maintaining community” (p. 21). Like the confluence of the Shashi-Tuli and the Limpopo rivers, I saw the cultural confluence of ubuntu in both my native community and the Lutheran faith. Colonial and imperial policies in my home country later led me to the United States, where I experienced similar intercultural connections and disconnections of ubuntu throughout my education, teaching career, and social justice work. As I moved through my personal and professional life, I continued to live with ubuntu ideals. Today, it still informs my interactions with students, colleagues, and family. Like Mandela (1994), my life and work has been rooted in the ubuntu philosophy that “respects and enhances the freedom of others” (p. 544).