One of my favorite holiday traditions is the Kwanzaa celebration I host for friends and family each year. Pre-covid, 100 people gathered in my home for a potluck feast, Kwanzaa games and Zawadi (gifts), and the candle lighting ceremony.
It was an honor to be featured in a NY Times article in 2020 featuring special meals. Check out my BBQ tofu recipe and more. And one note: Broil your tofu until it’s visibly crispy and sizzlingly fragrant!
The Spirit of Kwanzaa
The Kwanzaa holiday has magically provided me with inspiration, pride, gratitude, and a sense of accomplishment in a way that can never truly be measured. After the presidential election results of 2024, I heard a speaker suggest that this was a critical time for Black people in the US to decide what values they can collectively agree upon and prioritize as guides for their daily and long-term choices. If I could have gone through the internet, I would have told her “We already have them!!!” We just have to talk about them, spread the word, make meaning, and build bridges.
I have never ever ever ever heard a Black person say the Nguzo Saba is a bad thing or that the values don’t resonate with them as important and actionable. Perhaps we tie them too strongly to a Black nationalist perspective or people who connect deeply to our African roots in visible ways. Some people see Kwanzaa and hence the principles associated with the holiday as anti-Christian (or simply not rooted in Christian faith). They have value (pun intended) for all of us of African descent and I want to spread that message any chance I get.
If you have never lit a candle or sung a Kwanzaa song, I ask you to consider the value of the Nguzo Saba. Seven principles that offer direction, priority, and a guide as we navigate a multicultural world. Because multicultural does not mean we all blend in. It actually requires that we come together stronger in our own culture.
The extended purpose of Kwanzaa is*:
(1) To bring our families and the community together.
(2) To examine our personal and public lives in hopes of improving them.
(3) To discipline ourselves in study and struggle.
(4) To examine all of our relationships and attitudes, in ourselves, at home, at work, in the community, the nation, and the world.
(5) To develop a deeper sense of responsibility.
(6) To discard personal habits and attitudes that are harmful and non-productive.
(7) To reward the children for continually striving to do "good," helping others, studying, and sharing.
(8) To move away from individualism and toward genuine concern and greater sharing among family and community.
(9) To better utilize our talents, abilities, time, and money toward economic independence and growth.
(10) To teach our children to be giving rather than greedy and to respect the elders, who have lovingly sacrificed time, energy, and money to make their children's lives more complete."
*SOURCE: First Fruits: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝐺𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑇𝑜 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑧𝑎𝑎 by Imani A. Humphrey, (pg. 7-8)
Quick tidbit- All of the principles and the symbols of Kwanzaa are Kiswahili words, a Bantu language spoken in several African nations including Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Zaire (former Democratic Republic of the Congo). While in each of these countries, people speak many other indigenous languages, Kiswahili became ubiquitous because it was the dominant language used for trading and commerce and amongst the people. It is a pan-African’s dream that one day people of African descent all over the world could communicate in Kiswahili. Come on. Dream a little.
Below are some ways to embody the Nguzo Saba all year long.
Ways to Celebrate Kwanzaa 365
