The Enduring Value of Kwanzaa

Forty-two years after its creation, Kwanzaa retains its value and importance for African Americans and for America in general as an instructive guide for achieving personal excellence, family development, and community efficacy. Organized around the Seven Principles, listed below, Kwanzaa offers a way to assess and measure progress in achieving goals which are fundamental to realizing our highest potential and to building networks of care and services so vital to developing and sustaining healthy communities.

Though celebrated December 26 though January 1, the seven values of Kwanzaa are practiced throughout the year. This gives families, school, and communities an opportunity to track and measure their commitment to realize their personal and collective goals and to honor and celebrate their achievements. Promoting an approach which emphasizes recognition of strengths and positive accomplishments, Kwanzaa serves to reinforce ethical behavior, school success, and family and community service, underscoring one of its many methods for motivating positive behavior change.

Given the importance of Kwanzaa and the task of making sure that it is understood and practice with fidelity, this Kwanzaa Blog will offer year-around commentary, tips, and instructions on celebrating and practicing the holiday. By doing this, we hope that parents and their children, teachers and their students will develop a new and greater appreciation for Kwanzaa and will use the Seven Principles , the Kwanzaa symbols, activities and learning opportunities to develop their lives to the fullest potential.

The History of Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966 as a non heroic, non religious, cultural holiday for African-American. Kwanzaa grew out of the dynamic decade of the 1960s, which witnessed African Americans turning to Africa as a source of inspiration and cultural grounding, identity, and models. Resultantly, blacks in America took on African names, dress (dashikis) hairstyles (the Natural), and African cultural practices (languages and rituals).

The name Kwanzaa was derived from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza“, meaning “first fruits”. The “first-fruits celebrations were observed as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and was celebrated in classical African civilizations such as Ashantiland and Yorubaland. The “first-fruits” celebrations were also observed in ancient and modern times among societies as large as the Zulu and Swaziland empires as well as in smaller societies like the Matabele, Thonga and Lovedu.