If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters… This struggle may be a moral...
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If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters… This struggle may be a moral...
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One of the most frequently asked question is can people who are not African American celebrate Kwanzaa. The answer to this is an emphatic yes! Like Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas and Chanukah, Kwanzaa can be celebrated by all peoples or races. Kwanzaa, to be sure, is a non heroic and...
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Now that the President Obama has been re-elected for a second term, the difficult task of governing begins again. The 7 Principles presents one of the best frameworks for measuring how successful Obama will be, and determining the fidelity to the promises made and kept by Obama. Viewed through these principles then, here is...
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Sisterhood and Brotherhood run deep in the African American experience. It is both a term of endearment and a call to community, to fellowship, to union. The designation of sister and brother among blacks in America has both religious and social implications. Dating back to African American enslavement, the black church saw blacks linked...
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The Kwanzaa activity of pouring of libation is a spiritual and venerable act which has its roots in traditional African societies. It was done then and is done now to honor those who have gone before us. Their lives and contributions made it possible for us to live with more dignity, freedom, possibilities, and...
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One of the most meaningful activities of Kwanzaa is the daily ingathering activity. Based on the celebrations in traditional African societies, often referred to as the first fruits celebrations in which families and the larger community would come together to celebrate the harvest, the common good, and the coming of a new year, Kwanzaa...
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The African proverb says “a human being needs help.” The intent of this proverb, anchored in ethical and philosophical foundations of the 7 Principles of Kwanzaa, is just not to explain the world, but as APJ Roux asserts, “to prescribe a line of conduct.” In fact, in the context of the African worldview, humans...
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Central and essential to the restoration and revitalization of black and poor neighborhoods is establishment of community standards or norms. Community norms set the standard of right and wrong behavior. The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa are well-suited to serve as community standards for African American neighborhoods. What is important here and can not be...
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Continuing Series Kwanzaa places a premium and priority on the value of children. The Kwanzaa symbol Corn/Muhindi represents children. All families regardless of whether they have children place ears of corn on the Kwanzaa “Mat” in recognition that everyone is responsible for the care, welfare, and development of children. The African American community-based parenting...
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