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V V THE VOICE OF BLACK WOMANHOOD
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
By Carla D. Johnson
Reporter
Matunda Ya Kwanza
(Kiswahali for first fruit) was
created by Dr. M. Ron Karenga
for Black Americans ap
proximately 15 years ago. Kwan
za was founded to allow Black
Americans the opportunity to,
"celebrate our families and
communities, our warmth and
love, our interdependence and
freedom of struggle and our joy
and strength."
In the United States, Kwanza is
a symbolic event that takes place
each year Dec. 26 - Jan. 1st. The
Kwanza celebration is a time in
which, “Black people come
together to celebrate our African
heritage, to give thanks to our
ancestors, to reaffirm the belief
that elders should be respected,
to reinforce our value
framework for our children, and
to celebrate the seven principles
of the Black Value System - the
Nguzo Saba.” The seven prin
ciples of Nguzo Saba are as
follows:
1. Umoja — Unity - To strive
for and maintain unity in the
family, community, nation and
race.
2. Kujichagulia — Self - Deter
mination - To define ourselves,
name ourselves, create for
ourselves and speak for
ourselves rather than to allow
others to do these things for us.
3. Ujima — Collective Work
and Responsibility - To build and
maintain our community
together to make our sisters’ and
brothers’ problems our
problems, and to solve them
togehter.
4. Ujamaa — Cooperative
Economics - To build and main
tain our own stores, shops, and
other businesses to profit from
them together.
5. Nia — Purpose - To make
our colelctive vocation the
building and developing of our
community in order to restore
our people to their traditional
greatness.
6. Kuumba — Creativity - To
do always as much as we can in
order to leave our community
more beautiful and beneficial
than when we inherited it.
7. Imani — Faith - To believe
with all our hearts in our people,
our parents, our teachers, our
leaders, and the righteousness
and victory of our struggle.
These seven principles will aid
us in overcoming the political
dilemma faced by Black people.
They provide us with a unique
value system and we must utilize
them on a daily basis. As Spelman
women, we are living a legacy.
The founders of Spelman
College’ Sophia Packard and
Harriet Giles, dedicated their
lives to fulfilling the mission of
quality education for women. As
a result of their efforts, our
school has grown to be the
finest, and most prestigeous
Black women’s college in the
country today, and that is
something to be proud of.
Spelman College is renown for
graduating top quality Black
women that are pioneers and
leaders in a variety of areas.
Naming a few of our alumni, we
have Marian Wright Edelman
who is director of the Chidlren’s
Defense Fund in Washington,
D.C., and chairperson of
Spelman's board of trustees;
Effie O. Ellis, a medical doctor
and scientist; Mattiwilda Dobbs,
an opera star, and Ester Rolle a
1979 Emmy winner. These
women and other Black women
are serving as role models for us.
Through their outstanding
achievements, they are saying
with Nia — a purpose, Ku
jichagulia — self - determina
tion, and Imani - faith, that we
can all achieve and make sub
stantial contributions to our
people during our life times.
We do not have to wait until
we graduate from Spelman and
begin our careers to make our
contributions. As Spelman
sisters, we can achieve Umoja
(Unity) now by working together
to fulfill the needs of our com
munity and the people that live
in it. Every young woman at
Spelman is unique and has her
own special attribute that is
helping to make Spelman what it
is. The sixth principle, Kuumba,
means creativity to do always as
much as we can, in order to leave
cur community more beautiful
and beneficial than when we
inherited it. And, our communi
ty is more than the inside of
Spelman’s gates. It is the project
homes and poverty surrounding
us aswelf. This valuable principal
and realization should be
foremost in our minds as
Spelman students. Spelman
College does have much to offer
us, and during these hard
economic times, we need to take
advantage of all the valuable
resources and opportunities that
are available to us as Spelman
students, so that we will be
equipped to give of ourselves
within our respective com
munities.
Kwanza is much more than a
week’s worth of celebration, it is
a way of life. The Nguzo Saba are
a value system that we all need to
give considerable thought and
application to in the years ahead.
Let’s all try to make life as
enjoyable as possible for
everyone we come in contact
with.
I r:
Merry Christmas and Happy
KWANZA!
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