A Modern Look at Kwanzaa: An Interview With Christopher Harrison

Since it was first introduced by Maulana Karenga in 1966, Kwanzaa has been part of the suite of holidays celebrated by Americans at the end of every year. Yet compared to other winter holidays, Kwanzaa is not especially popular, even among its target community of African Americans. Though a variety of Kwanzaa events take place every year, some attracting crowds of thousands, many of us are unfamiliar with the core principles of the celebration, its history or its original intent. For others, the disconnect is aesthetic, rooted in 60s perspectives on Black culture and diaspora and hard to connect with today. But the seven principles that form the core of the celebration, Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Familyhood / Cooperative economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith), are powerful points of focus and we should be careful not to lose them to neglect.