Black History Month: Kwanzaa

For Kwanzaa 2003, which begins December 26, Black Issues Book Review asked an expert on African American traditional observances to select especially for our readers--seven gifts, one for each principle of the celebration that need not be store-bought goods. He has chosen wisely and well, inviting us to reflect and meditate on his selections

Download these special items for your celebration Several Internet sites offer free items for your Kwanzaa celebration. For music, African drumbeats can be downloaded for the festivities from http://theholidayspot.com/kwanzaa/kwanzaa _music.htm. Also, choose from 30 unique computer graphics to add pizzazz to invitations, cards, flyers, and posters (www.freegraphics.com). And, children can get into the spirit by sending out one of a dozen creative, animated electronic cards to family and friends (www.care2.com/send/catkwanz1.html).

Kwanzaa, the Festival of First Fruits, is a cultural holiday that focuses on family and community. In 1966 Maulana Karenga, a college student and political activist, drew upon the African tradition of agricultural harvest festivals to introduce the holiday. His aim was to reinforce a sense of community among blacks. Karenga molded certain traditional values of African societies into seven core principles. He chose a Swahili term for each principle: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujimaa (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith). The focus on these principles appeals to both adults and children and transcends the generation gap and other barriers that exist within the African-American community. Recognizing Kwanzaa as a vehicle to promote positive values, African-American educators have moved to the forefront of this trend. Teachers have incorporated information about the festival in their learning activities, creating a demand for literature on Kwanzaa. he focus on positive values makes Kwanzaa a celebration with a difference, and the challenge for us, as Kwanzaa continues to gain popularity, is to not lose sight of this difference.

Many Afro-Americans believe that Kwanzaa is a special celebration open only to Afro-Americans. However, many middle-class Afro-Americans are moving away from such an ethocentric belief about Kwanzaa. Experts believe that this shift reflects a strong feeling of alienation from popular Afro-American culture experienced by middle-class Afro-Americans. In addition, they note that middle-class Afro-Americans, because of their high educational attainment, are slowly realizing that isolation and ethnocentricism are contrary to the principles of universality espoused by Kwanzaa.

Collection of videos and articles about Kwanzaa.

This is the official website for Kwanzaa, supported by its founder Maulana Karenga.

In whole the black, red, and green all constitute the colors of Kwanzaa. The three red candles as a whole represent struggle. Additionally, each of them has extra meaning provided by the day the candle is lit. The red Kujichagulia candle represents the principle of self-determination.The red Ujima candle represents the efforts we participate in as a collective group. The red Ujamaa candle represents the more business-oriented part of our community. Taken as a whole, green symbolizes the land and our hopes for the future. As with the red candles, each green candle also has a specific meaning based on a principle of Kwanzaa. The green Nia candle symbolizes the concept of building up the community. The green Kuumba candle honors the principle of creativity. The green Imani candle is lit to celebrate faith. And at last, we come to the single black Umoja candle, which is always lit before the other candles. The color black represents all people of African descent.