Kwanzaa Celebrations Nationwide

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It was an encounter with the police in Los Angeles Police that led to the Watts Rebellion in 1965. For five days, the city raged with anger in the wake of uprisings and protests that had taken place in predominately Black communities across the country as a response to deliberate deplorable living conditions, the general treatment of Black people, and long-standing tension between police and residents.

Seeing these events unfolding, Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University saw that African Americans throughout the United States needed to come together as a community. After his research of African “first fruit” (harvest) celebrations, Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa, derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili.

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The seven-day celebration begins on December 26 and culminates with an African feast, called Karamu, which is held on January 1. Kwanzaa celebrations often include African drums, music, dancing, storytelling, poetry reading, and gift-giving. Each day is a day to reflect on the Nguzo Saba (meaning seven principles in Swahili) and every evening, a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara (candleholder), then one of the seven principles is discussed.

In the years since the creation of Kwanzaa, communities, churches, libraries, universities, and municipalities have been hosting Kwanzaa events to commemorate the values of African culture reinforcing community among African-Americans. Looking for an event being held near you or streaming online? I have one event from each state listed below.