Kwanzaa Celebration

December 26 – January 1

Kwanzaa is a celebration of life and the up life of human beings based on the principles of African culture.  Kwanzaa was created in 1996 by Dr. Mulana Karenga,  a professor and chair of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Karenga is an author and activist who stressed the indispensable need to preserve, continually revitalize and promote American culture through African rituals.  Dr. Karenga is chairperson of the organization US.  www.us-organization.org

Kwanzaa was established in aftermath of the Watts, California Watts Riots.  Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but a cultural one, a festival based on various elements of the first harvest celebrations in Africa.   

• • • • Umoja (Unity),  
      • Kujichagulia (Self-determination),
      • Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility),
      • Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics),
      • Nia (Purpose),
      • Kuumba (Creativity), and
      • Imani (Faith).