#kwanzaa principles

[chernobog13]

HAPPY KWANZAA!

[blackblaze]

[purefilly-connection]

Kujichagulia: Embracing Self-Determination

The second day of Kwanzaa celebrates Kujichagulia, which means Self-Determination in Swahili. This principle focuses on defining ourselves, creating our own paths, and speaking for ourselves rather than being defined or spoken for by others. As I reflect on Kujichagulia, the principle of self-determination, I realize how much of my journey over the past year has been about stepping into this…

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Happy Kwanzaa

Principle 2 - December 27th

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

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[brooklynmuseum]

Happy Kwanzaa to all! Created in 1966 by activist and professor Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa celebrates the impact of African heritage in African American culture through a week-long ceremony grounded in seven core principles: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith). 

Contemporaneous with Karenga’s efforts, Barbara Jones-Hogu’s Relate to Your Heritage (1971) also compels African Americans to connect to African culture, featuring profiles of Black individuals in African-inspired dress and adornment. Barbara Jones-Hogu was an artist, educator, and filmmaker, and a member of AfriCOBRA, a Chicago-based artist collective established in 1968 who worked in service of Black liberation movements and advocated for the incorporation of African aesthetics in their art. This Jones-Hogu work is currently traveling as part of We Wanted a Revolution, and a number of AfriCOBRA artists, including Jones-Hogu will be represented in the forthcoming Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. 

This post recognizes the memory of Barbara Jones-Hogu, who passed away this year at the age of 79.

Posted by Ashley James Barbara Jones-Hogu (American, born 1938). Relate to Your Heritage, 1971. Screenprint on paper Brooklyn Museum; Gift of R.M. Atwater, Anna Wolfrom Dove, Alice Fiebiger, Joseph Fiebiger, Belle Campbell Harriss, and Emma L. Hyde, by exchange, Designated Purchase Fund, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, and Carll H. de Silver Fund, 2012.80.26.

[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Happy Kwanzaa  

Principle 7 - January 1st

Imani (Faith)

To believe in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story

Angela Shelf Medearis

Daniel Minter 

Albert Whitman & Co (2000)

When they are given the seemingly impossible task of turning thread into gold, the seven Ashanti brothers put aside their differences, learn to get along, and embody the principles of Kwanzaa. Includes information on Kwanzaa, West African cloth weaving, and instructions for making a belt.When they are given the task of turning thread into gold, the seven Ashanti brothers put aside their differences, learn to get along, and embody the principles of Kwanzaa, in a story with information on Kwanzaa and African weaving.

Ages: 7 and up

Grades: 2nd and up

Pages: 40

Find more children’s and young adult books by Black authors here

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Happy Kwanzaa

Principle 5 - December 30th

Nia (Purpose)

To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

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