By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Reporter
The Kwanzaa House hosted its annual Kwanzaa celebration from December 26- January 1 at the Frederick Douglass Center at 1001 Indiana Ave. The free weeklong celebration featured activities for adults and as well as for children and included vendors, food, speakers and performances celebrating African American culture and heritage.
Rodney Gordon, president of the Toledo Kwanzaa House, emphasized the importance of the holiday “Kwanzaa teaches the community a lot of valuable things. When it comes to each of the seven principles, I firmly believe you can use them every single day.”
Gordon is the grandson of Diane Gordon whose family first started the local Kwanzaa celebrations in Toledo in 1967 in her home. He is continuing the legacy today.
“I really think it’s important for the community to continue to grow and develop. To strengthen our bonds and really try to take this time [after Christmas and before the new year] to think about how you want to be in the new year”, he stated.
Created in 1966 by Maulana Ron Karenga, Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates history, values, family, community and culture.
The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa (Ngoza Saba) are :
1. Umoja (unity) 00-MOH -jah: To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation. And race.
2. Kujichangulia (Self-determination) KOO-gee-CHA-goo-LEE-ah: To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves instead of being spoken for by others.
3. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) 00-GEE-mah: To build and maintain our community together to make our sister’s and brother’s problems our problems, and to solve these problems together.
4. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) 00-jah-MAH: To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses, and to profit from them together.
5. Nia (Purpose) Nee-ah: To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6. Kuumba (Creativity) KOO-00M-bah: To do always as much as we can, in the way e can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.
7. Imani (Faith) ee-Mon-EE: To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. (Source: officialkwanzaawebsite.org)
To learn more about Kwanzaa visit: officialkwanzaawebsite.org
To learn more about the Frederick Douglass Community Association visit: thedoug419.org
The next event the Kwanzaa House will host is a Black History Month Celebration held at the Frederick Douglass Center in February.
