I’ll never forget the name because I’ve been mistakenly called Imani more times than I can count. In Swahili Imani means faith while my name, Amani means Peace, both traits of which are compliments whose practice build our character. On this last day of Kwanzaa thinking about the principal of faith is the perfect way […]
Kuumba means Creativity Creativity is in our blood, we create as naturally as we breath. From music to clothing, businesses, inventions, hair styles, instruments and more; creativity is a part of our culture. During this sixth day of Kwanzaa I challenge each of us to tap into our creative spaces. Practicing our creativity clears the […]
Nia means Purpose On the fifth day we think about the principal of purpose which is popularly defined as, “To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.”Our traditional greatness is dependent on each of our individual greatness. In order to unlock each […]
Ujamaa means Cooperative Economics As we move further into the celebration of Kwanzaa we can see how each principal builds upon the next. Cooperative Economics calls for each of the characteristics we’ve learned, unity in our thinking as a community, the motivation of self-determination and the ability to responsibly work collectively. Ujamaa or cooperative economics […]
Ujima means Collective Work and Responsibility In thinking about Unity and Self-Determination an important aspect in order for both of these to function are collective work and responsibility. Collective work and responsibility spread the burden of obligation over multiple parties instead of them all falling onto an individual. Ujima is popularly described as, “To build […]
Kujichagulia (koo-jee-chah-goo-LEE-ah) or Self- Determination This article is a special one for me because when we see family members accomplishing their dreams, it bring us closer to our own. It gives validity to those fantasies that we sometimes feel are too far away. I’ve never walked into a restaurant owned by a family member, in […]
Kwanzaa Why not extend the holiday season with some uplifting cultural attention? The first day of Kwanzaa, December 26th, begins the day after Christmas. For years I thought of Kwanzaa as the ‘Black’ Christmas, an either or type of thing. I thought to myself as a child, I want the regular Christmas, the one you […]