Beginning tomorrow and for the next seven days I will celebrate Kwanzaa. I celebrate Kwanzaa because I am an American of African descent and proud of it. Kwanzaa is a cultural not a religious holiday that celebrates my heritage. It was began in 1966 by Maulana Karenga and I have been celebrating Kwanzaa since 1979. Each of the seven days between December 26 and January 1, has a principle which is the central focus of that day. Those seven principles are wonderful reminders of who were, are, and can become as a people. This year with all the discussions on race, the inappropriate use of force by some police officers, and some questionable grand jury decisions, let's take some time to reflect on the principles of Kwanzaa.
The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa (The Nguzo Saba)
Umoja - Unity - To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
Kujichagulia - Self Determination - To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility - To build and maintain our community together and to make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics - To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit together from them.
Nia - Purpose - To make as our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Kuumba - Creativity - To do always as much as we can, in the way that we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.
Imani - Faith - To believe with all our hearts in our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our people, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
To Imani I also add - To believe in God. Because with God, all things are possible. Even if you don't celebrate Kwanzaa let's seek to abide by its principles not just for Kwanzaa but for every day of the year.
Have a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Kwanzaa, and a Blessed and Prosperous New Year!