Blast from Kwanzaa's Past

Since I don't have much new to say this year I'm digging in the crates. Here's Umoja from the Blog's firt Kwanzaa in 2003.

http://garveys-ghost.blogspot.com/2003/12/kwanzaa-2003-umoja-today-is-first-day.html

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa the celebration, I won't say holiday given that holiday is really a reference to "holy" days as in religious observance. What is Kwanzaa? Well there are a lot of misinformation regearding Kwanzaa which has grown as it has become mainstreamed. Kwanzaa was strated by Dr. Ron Karenga previously of the US organization that had famous run-ins with the Black Panther Party care of the FBI's COINTELPRO. Kwanzaa came as an outgrowth of Dr. Karenga's belief in what is refered to as "Cultural Nationalism."

In 2004 I decided on choice quotes from our esteemed scholars and leaders.

http://garveys-ghost.blogspot.com/2003/12/kwanzaa-2003-umoja-today-is-first-day.html

As far as Negroes are concerned, in America we have the problem of lynching, peonage and dis-franchisement.



In the West Indies, South and Central America we have the problem on peonage, serfdom, industrial and political government inequality.



In Africa, we have, not only peonage and serfdom, but out-right slavery, racial exploitation and alien political monopoly.



We cannot allow a continuation of these crimes agins our race. As four hundred million men, women and children, worthy of existance given us by the Divine Creator, we are determined to solve our own problem, by redeeming out Motherland Africa from the hands of alien exploiters and found there a government, a nation of our own, strong enough to lend protection to the members of our race scattered all over the world, and to compel the respect of the nations and races of the earth.

in 2005 we went back to studying the principles.

http://garveys-ghost.blogspot.com/2003/12/kwanzaa-2003-umoja-today-is-first-day.html

Today's principle is Umoja, or unity. Dr. Karenga wrote in 1965 that he meant for Umoja to stand for:



Unity for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.



I have no doubt that with the expanded attention given to Kwanzaa that the last portion will no doubt be de-emphasized if not dropped all together. Today I want to emphasis a little remembered portion of Dr. Maulana's purpose for Kwanzaa and the cultural revitalization of black people:. Kawaida Theory. One of the central questions asked in this line of thought are:





Who am I?

Am I all that I could be?



My history teacher at Tuskegee, Prof. Fluker would pose the question:



what is the identity? (yourself, your subject)

What is thiere purpose?

What is thier direction?



He referred to this as the IPD: If you could could identify the person. If you could identify thier purpose and direction, most everything else about the subject (including oneself) can be determined.

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