Embrace Kwanzaa’s aims to repair damaged world

As our nation and world bid adieu to 2017 and stand on the threshold of 2018, reflections on a host of diverse but weighty social and political challenges take center stage in one purposeful weeklong observance.

But what, you may ask, do genocide, terrorism, homelessness, climate change, human-rights abuses, oppression, poverty and other societal ills have in common?

They share plenty, according to the founder of Kwanzaa, the seven-day African-American holiday week observance that began Tuesday and runs through New Year’s Day.

Dr. Maulena Karenga, in his 51st annual founder’s address issued this week, has dedicated the 2017-18 observance of Kwanzaa to “Repairing, Renewing and Remaking Our World.”

Toward that end, Karenga and others are asking all participants in the holiday – black, brown and white alike – to embrace the seven core principles (Nguzo Saba in Swahili) of Kwanzaa as a means to find “the most ethically effective and expansive ways” to confront and conquer those challenges.

We urge all to answer that call.

We can do so in many ways, including active participation in organized Kwanzaa events. Many showed up Tuesday night, for example, at New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown for the traditional opening-night celebration of the core principle of Umoja or unity.

Other public observances include a celebration of other daily principles at 6 p.m. Thursday at Beulah Baptist Church or at events at 5 p.m. Saturday at Mount Sinai Baptists Church and 1 p.m. Saturday at East Branch Library.

Others can choose to internalize the principles in their daily lives. In addition to Umoji, the principles are Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics, Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith). As Karenga rightly argues, serious and sustained practice of these principles can go far toward repairing our severely damaged world one community at a time.

DEBUNKING KWANZAA MYTHS

For maximum effectiveness, however, the Kwanzaa holiday must be stripped of much of the mystery and misunderstanding that devalue it. In some circles, after all, it still struggles to gain legitimacy.

Some actually deride its very existence. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter falsely calls the observance a “nutty blend of schmaltzy ’60s rhetoric, black racism and Marxism.”

As the Mahoning Valley joins the rest of the nation in marking the start of the holiday, it’s an opportune time to demystify the festival, debunk myths surrounding it and reinforce its legitimacy as an observance that black Americans – and all Americans – should appreciate.

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. Karenga, who organized the first Kwanzaa in the United States in 1966 in the aftermath of the Watts riots, clearly states its foundational purpose:

“In its most essential understanding and expression, Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community and culture with each providing a context and commitment of common ground, cooperative practice and shared good.”

Of course, the cultural message is aimed primarily at blacks. Kwanzaa in Swahili means the celebration of first fruits.

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

And once we shed Kwanzaa of the misconceptions and fallacies surrounding it, what remains are the core ideals that offer black Americans and all Americans guidance to lead productive, fulfilling and honorable lives.

In a larger perspective, all of us can expand this seven-day festival by celebrating and espousing its seven guiding principles 365 days a year. In so doing, we can take slow but steady steps toward repairing, renewing and remaking our indisputably imperfect world.