CULTURAL RESOURCE CENTER TO CELEBRATE KWANZAA

            The African American Cultural Resource Center will host their Annual Kwanzaa Celebration on Thursday, December 12^th at the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Public Library, 2801 Newtown Blvd. in Sarasota.  The theme is “Relating to the past, understanding the present and preparing for the future”.  Festivities will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

            Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community and culture and celebration of life held from December 26^th to January 1^st each year.  The festival was introduced by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 to the United States as a ritual to welcome the first harvests to the home. Dr. Karenga, a professor of Africana Studies, created this festival for Afro-Americans as a response to the commercialism of Christmas.

            During the holiday, families and communities organize activities around the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity); Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility); Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith).  Participants also celebrate with feasts (karamu), music, dance, poetry, narratives and end the holiday with a day dedicated to reflection and recommitment to the Seven Principals and other central cultural values.

            To celebrate the true spirit of Kwanzaa, guests are encouraged to wear African attire.