Practicing the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa
LBSU Students Celebrate Kwanzaa with Founder Dr. Maulana Karenga
By Dorian J. Jackson, Contributor
Make the world more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it, urged the keynote speaker at the pre-Kwanzaa celebration on Tuesday.
“Our task this Kwanzaa is to ask ourselves, how do we repair, renew and remake our world?” Dr. Maulana Karenga — professor, department chair of Africana Studies at LBSU and creator of Kwanzaa — posed this question to a room of approximately 150 students and guests in the USU Ballrooms.
Created in 1966, Kwanzaa is a pan-African holiday that is a celebration of family, community and culture. In this 51st year, we are encouraged by Dr. Karenga to continue to practice the principles of Kwanzaa by developing a plan on how we can repair, renew and remake our world.
During the celebration, there was Tambiko (libation), a call to the ancestors who have passed on and for the ones who have taught us how to face the world, singing, the lighting of the Kinara (candle) and an introduction to the holiday and it’s Nguzo Saba (the Seven Principles).
“The hub and hinge of which the holiday turn, are the Seven Principles,” said Karenga. They are “values that stress and strengthen family, community and culture.”
The Seven Principles are: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith). They are relevant and universal.
Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration that starts on Dec. 26 and ends on Jan. 1. Each of the Seven Principles coincides with a different day. Over the years, the celebration of Kwanzaa has grown. It is practiced in small and large numbers all over the world and with each passing year, many more are learning of its traditions.
“I liked the Nguzo Saba,” said Tobias Storm, freshman international student from Sweden. “If practiced, it would bring betterment for the community.”
He went on to say that it made him feel good to see that it is not all talk or a trend but a real call to action.
Ashley Lewis, a senior in Africana Studies, felt that she didn’t know enough about Kwanzaa until now, and is genuinely considering practicing it moving forward.
“[The celebration] helped me to want to be the best me,” said Lewis. “It made me reflect on my year and think about how I can improve.”
This event was co-sponsored by the Department of Africana Studies, Africana Studies Student Association (ASSA) and Beach Pride Events.
For more information on Kwanzaa, visit: www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.
This Kwanzaa and always, Dr. Karenga wants to remind us to “walk gently, act justly, relate righteously in the world — for the world and all that is in it.”
Happy Kwanzaa, LBSU.
