Malcolm X College will hold its annual Kwanzaa celebration from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
A procession and drum call will be held at noon to begin the program. Event goers will enjoy live performances and shopping all courtesy of local artisans. The public is also sure to enjoy performances by, Najwa Dance Corps and Joan Collasco.
This event celebrating Kwanzaa is free and open to the public and will be held on the first floor of Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson St. Free garage parking is available in Malcolm X College’s
parking garage, which can be accessed from Jackson Street.
Kwanza is an annual celebration of African-American culture that is held from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. It was created by Maulana Karenga and is rooted in the African Harvest festival traditions from various countries.
Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966 and celebrates the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba. These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili word meaning “common.” Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of these principles:
Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community,
nation and race
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well
as to create and speak for ourselves
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain
our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our
problems and to solve them together
Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): To build and maintain our own stores,
shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together
Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness
Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we
can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it
Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents,
our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle