A clear view of Kwanzaa holds lessons for us all

Today, 44 years after its first observance, Kwanzaa remains steeped in misunderstanding and mystery.

As the Mahoning Valley joins the rest of the nation this week in marking the seven-day African-American-based holiday, it is an opportune time to demystify the festival and debunk myths surrounding it.

Coming as it does during the heart of Christianity’s most hallowed season, it is easy for some to perceive Kwanzaa as a religious celebration. Targeted as it is toward black Americans, it is easy for other ethnic groups to simply ignore.

Kwanzaa, however, is neither religious in its foundation nor exclusionary in its message.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, who organized the first Kwanzaa in the United States in 1966, clearly states the purpose of the holiday in his 2010 Kwanzaa message to the nation:

“In its most essential understanding and ex- pression, Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community and culture with each providing a context and commitment of common ground, cooperative practice and shared good. Kwanzaa is a celebration of the family, which first forms us, names, nurtures and sustains us, and teaches us upright and uplifting ways to understand and assert ourselves in the world.”

Of course, the cultural message is aimed primarily at blacks. Kwanzaa, which in Swahili means the celebration of first fruits, accentuates values that reinforce African family, community and cultural values.

Kwanzaa is inclusive

But as Karenga points out, people of other cultures and ethnicities can and do celebrate Kwanzaa, just as people of all cultures mark St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Italian-American heritage festivals and other ethnic-specific observances throughout the year.

Indeed, some of the seven guiding principles, or “Nguzo Saba,” of Kwanzaa transcend racial and ethnic boundaries. Those values, one of which is celebrated during each day of Kwanzaa, include Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).

For example, take today’s principle of Ujima, collective work and responsibility, which will be marked in Youngstown at 6 p.m. today at Beulah Baptist Church, 570 Sherwood Ave., with a gospel celebration, liturgical dancing, pantomime and cultural celebration.

To be sure, strengthening and improving our community through responsible and coordinated work is a noble ideal for all to embrace.

But that ideal and the others of Kwanzaa should not be reserved for only one week of relevance and reverence.

As scholar Dorothy Winbush Riley, author of “The Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating Our Cultural Heritage,” argues, “although we celebrate Kwanzaa the last week of the year, we must live the teachings each moment of every day, physically, morally and spiritually. Every day of the year, we must apply and practice the Nguzo Saba sincerely and faithfully to harvest success.”