Opinion: In school, students do not learn true African American history. Kwanzaa teaches us. [Opinion]
The Nguzo Saba is the Swahili term for the seven principles that are the seven basic values of African culture. These principles stand at the heart of the origin and meaning of Kwanzaa; they are not only the building blocks for the community but serve also as its social glue.
The seven principles are Umoja or unity, Kujichagulia or self-determination, Ujima or collective work and responsibility, Ujamaa or cooperative economics, Nia or purpose, Kuumba or creativity, and Imani or faith. WorldBeat Cultural Center has been celebrating Kwanzaa as a tradition for 42 years beginning at the Prophet Vegetarian restaurant. I opened the restaurant on University Avenue in City Heights in 1971 and closed it in 1985. The year after the restaurant closed, the nonprofit Prophet World Beat Productions was created.Every year, each night features special guest speakers and performers, ceremonial candle lighting and libation with drumming, Kwanzaa poetry readings and Karamu .
This year’s highlighted keynote guest will be Dr. Maulana Karenga on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. His lecture will be on “Kwanzaa, Culture and the Practice of Freedom: A Model and Message for Our Times.” Dr. Karenga is a professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at California State University Long Beach. He is the creator of the pan-African cultural holiday Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba and author of the authoritative text titled “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture.”
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