Celebrating Kwanzaa This 2020

Habari Ghani?! Which means “What’s the word?!” in Kiswahili. This phrase is usually heard during the seven days of Kwanzaa — which starts tomorrow, December 26th and will last through January 1st here in the United States. I choose to focus on Kwanzaa more than I do on Christmas — especially because of cultural and spiritual reasons.

The seven candles represent a rich culture of blood, land, and Black skin that allows us to be happy about, be proud about, be hopeful for another year as people of African descent in this country who have had to create out own traditions in order to remain connected to what makes us whole.

Celebrating Kwanzaa represents a long journey still existing inside of us as we remember bondage, mistreatment, enslavement. We have Kwanzaa to take us back home, we have Kwanzaa to keep us focused, reflective of the seven principles it contains. Those seven principles are:

Unity (umoja),
Self-determination (kujichagulia)
Collective work and responsibility (ujima),
Cooperative economics (ujamaa),
Purpose (nia),
Creativity (kuumba), and
Faith (imani)

We can use all of these principles to get us back to being collectively, the people we need to be. We can use these principles to help us get us past current struggles we are facing as Black people in the United States of America. We can use these principles when politicians and local governments fail us in policy and in protection.

The seven principles of Kwanzaa can help us even more these days as we prepare for a new year which I hope is a lot less tragic for Black people, and people of color in this country. We have always needed a proper or propelling spiritual foundation in the U.S. in order to continue prospering here. Kwanzaa’s structure offers that to us. I am sure its creator, Mali Karenga, knew this when he brilliantly crafted Kwanzaa. Learn more here:

I am prepared now more than ever, especially as a culture leader and as a spiritual man who found out this year where his roots are in Africa, and in other nations. All of this knowledge, wisdom, and information I have gathered in this quiet, reflective year has me looking forward to Kwanzaa and all it has to offer.

May we not take Kwanzaa for granted; may Kwanzaa not be appropriated; may it empower African-American communities and individuals across the land as we continue to break the chains our Ancestors first encountered being brought into this country. I hope that you all enjoy Kwanzaa in your own unique and special ways!