What Is Kwanzaa?page 2 / 2
• Nia (Purpose)
Nia (NEE-YAH). To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity)
Kuumba (KOO-OOM-BAH). 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)
Imani (EE-MAH-NEE). To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
(From Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture)
Dr. Maulana Karenga
Kwanzaa is celebrated by millions including many celebrities in the United States: Chuck D, a hip-hop powerhouse and co-founder of Public Enemy; Jim Brown, a former NFL star; Dead Prez, an American rap duo, and even Oprah Winfrey. Kwanzaa is a joyous celebration of family, community and cultural heritage.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, founder of Kwanzaa, explains: “Kwanzaa stresses the importance of our sowing the seeds of goodness everywhere, of cultivating them with care and loving kindness, of harvesting the products of our efforts with joy and of sharing the good of it all throughout the community and the world. Thus, of all the rich and expansive ways we can express the meaning and message of Kwanzaa, none is more important than seeing it and embracing it as a season and celebration of bringing good into the world.”