Spirit Of Kwanzaa

Original - Oil on canvas 30" x 40" The spirits of African American ancestors surround Dr.Maulana Karenga who started more than 30 years ago the Kwanzaa celebration that is practiced by people around the world. Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Kwanzaa is a CULTURAL holiday, not a religious one. Kwanzaa was created in 1996 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach. It is celebrated from December 26 through January 1. He wanted to speak our own cultural truth to the world. Culture is a fundamental way of being human in the world. So, he came up with the concept of Kwanzaa, a Swahili word that means first fruit. Mr. Karenga saw the celebration as a means of introducing Black Americans to the values, customs and traditions of Africa. "It reaffirms our rootedness in Africa," he says. "It's stepping back to Black!" In the foreground of this pain