A brief history of Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa was created out of the philosophy of Kawaida, which is a cultural nationalist philosophy that argues that the key challenge in Black peoples’ lives is the challenge of culture and that what Africans must do is to discover and bring forth the best of their culture, both ancient and current, and use it as a foundation to bring into being models of human excellence and possibilities to enrich and expand our lives. It was created in the midst of our struggles of liberation in the 1960s and was part of our organization’s U.S. efforts to create, recreate and circulate African culture as an aid to building community, enriching Black consciousness, and reaffirming the value of culture grounding for life and struggle. “Kwanzaa is celebrated by millions of people of African descent throughout the world African community. As a cultural holiday, Africans practice it from all religions, traditions, all classes, all ages and generations, and all political persuasions on the common ground of their Africanness in all its historical and cultural diversity and unity.” –Maulana Karenga, founder of Kwanzaa Kwanzaa In the Triad Rachel and Duane Jackson of Winston-Salem had friends in Greensboro, Barbara Ferguson Kamara and her husband, Musa,...