Keeping Hope in Jubilee
Frederick Douglass believed that the Civil War was the last best hope for abolishing slavery in America. For Douglass, as well as for many others, the Civil War carried a powerful millennialist and apocalyptic meaning; it became a hold war for black freedom and for national regeneration. Douglass saw the war and Reconstruction as the crucible in which a truly new nation was born, one in which blacks would be full participants by birthright and experience.

We’ve Come this Far by Faith
The title of this song may sound very familiar. We’ve Come This Far by Faith, leaning on the Lord, leaning on the Lord, trusting in His Holy Word. He's never failed me yet. This song embodies the spirit and practice of African Americans of all periods in American history who have kept the faith in themselves and the capacity of America to change and live up to its creed memorized in the Declaration of Independence- “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Mercy McLeod Bethune Last Will and Testament
Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights leader, best known for starting a school for black students in Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, declared in her famed Last will and Testament: “Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without faith, noting is possible. With it, noting is impossible. Faith in God is the greatest power, but great too, is faith in oneself.”

Advice From Mother To Son
In Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son,” the mother is speaking to her son; her message is that her life has not been easy, but she has not let herself stop trying. The speaker uses a “stair-way” metaphor to represent her life. She first tells her son that “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” A crystal stair represents an imaginary path of ease—the crystal makes the climb smooth and comfortable. The stair this mother has ascended has had difficulties—“tacks” and “splinters”—it has had not had carpet which would also make the walk easier on the feet. And as in life, there are twists and turns, the stairway the mother has climbed his had turns. But she makes the point that she never gives up, regardless of the difficulty: “I'se been a-climbin' on.” And she is rewarded for her effort by reaching landings and turning corners; these places on the stairway represent real achievements she has made by her vigilant struggle.

Life Every Voice and Sing
Lift Every Voice and Sing, conceived first as a poem and then a song, captures two of the Kwanzaa Principles- Unity and Faith:
Lift every voice and sing,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on 'til victory is won.

Hope
Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign embodied the hope of people all over the world that a new world order was possible. For African Americans, Obama’s campaign made them more hopeful that America was changing and living out Martin Luther King’s Dream. One of the most ubiquitous images of Obama was the iconic red, white and blue collage by Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey, depicting Obama with the word "Hope." The image — later modified with the messages of "Change" and "Vote" for the Obama campaign — became one of the most memorable images from the 2008 election.