by Kofi Khemet,
1/3/2015
Kwanzaa, African America’s first, non-heroic, cultural holiday, is based on principles of communal living and the cultural practices of Africans from Cape to Cairo and was first celebrated in December of 1966 by members of the US organization. The cornerstone of the holiday is the Black Value System, known as the Nguzo Saba, or Seven Principles first identified by Dr. Maulana Karenga, founder of US. He describes these principles as follows:
The set of principles which we put forth is the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles): Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination); Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility); Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); Nia (Purpose); Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). These Seven Principles are essential standards of personal and social excellence directed toward building and sustaining moral community, and strengthening and maintaining the community's capacity to define, defend and develop its interests in the most positive and productive sense. In addition to being standards of excellence, the Nguzo Saba are also categories of priorities and categories of human possibilities. As categories of priorities, they tell us some of the most important things in our lives, identifying a key set of views, values and practices which we should, even must, put first in our personal and social life. And as categories of possibilities, the Nguzo Saba, offer us a set of principles which encourage thought and practice which help define, develop and enhance our humanity in the context of community and the world. [italics mine] US Philosophy, Principles and Program
From its humble beginnings as a celebration of unity for a small organization based in Los Angeles, CA the holiday is now celebrated by millions of people around the world, on at least 4 out of 5 of the inhabited continents; validating the universal appeal of the Nguzo Saba and Kwanzaa, the holiday that celebrates its principles.
Kwanzaa has come out of obscurity and is in the process of becoming as accepted as any other cultural holiday like Hanukah and Ramadan. Unlike Hanukah and Ramadan, however, Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, instead it’s a holiday celebrating the idea expressed within the South African philosophy of Ubuntu, which simply means, “I am, because we are.”
As Kwanzaa continues to grow it’s important that our children see the Nguzo Saba, at the heart of Kwanzaa, as principles that are not only relevant, but highly desirable and practical enough to use on an everyday basis.
Kwanzaa is nearly 50 years old and over the years the awareness of Kwanzaa has grown, but the development of the holiday and the principles it’s founded on have become stagnant or, in some ways, begun to regress. Having celebrated Kwanzaa all over the country, from 1973 to the present, this is something that was very noticeable and troubling to me, personally. Even more troubling was the focus on the Nguzo Saba for 7 days and then its storage on the top shelf of our closets until next year. Many of the old guard, Kwanzaa stalwarts, feel very strongly about the Nguzo Saba and the everyday practicality of the Seven Principles. The question has been, if we could get young people to practice the Seven Principles every day what kind of positive impact would it have on our communities, as a whole?
No one had a viable solution to the problem, until December of 2014, when
Darryl ml Crosby breathed the breath of life into the Nguzo Saba, with the introduction of Kinara's Children: Everyday Heroes. These “heroes” are more everyday than heroic. They do not have “super powers,” according to Crosby. In common with many of the Greek gods, like Heracles (Hercules), Achilles, etc., they are mere mortals who use their god given abilities in an extraordinary manner. However, unlike the gods of the Greeks, these everyday heroes are much more powerful when they work in tandem, than when they go solo.
The kinara, Kiswahili for candle holder, is one of the symbols of Kwanzaa. It represents our ancestors, from the first ancestor to those most recently departed from this mortal plane. Kinara’s Children are the youth of today, with all of their contradictions. Each of Kinara’s Children has a Kiswahili name and represents one of the 7 principles or Nguzo Saba, but at the same time they are living in the modern world, dealing with the problems and issues of today.
According to Crosby, each of them “possesses amazing skills based on hard work and determination. Eventually they'll come to learn why they've been brought together and the awesome power of the collective.” Over the course of the new year Darryl Crosby, a graphic designer at Kent State University, will begin to flesh out the story of Kinara’s Children as an ongoing serial. Be on the lookout for more from Darryl in Black History Month 2015.
For those of you who would like to be privy to what’s going on behind the scenes you can sign up on his Patreon page. For a donation of $1/illustration or story you will be put on the list, so you don’t get missed in the final analysis and watch as he develops “positive art for positive people.” Guaranteed, the experience of watching a genius at work will be most gratifying. You can also follow his progress and see what other projects he’s working on by liking his Created by Crosby Facebook page and of course he is one of the featured artists in The Center of Pan-African Culture group on Facebook.
