Kwanzaa founder opens the holiday at RIT Dec. 12

Maulana Karenga strives for unity in the family, community, nation and race.

“Habari gani” is the Swahili phrase for “What is the news?” The news on campus is heartening—guaranteed to lift the mind, soul and spirit this holiday season.

Maulana Karena, founder of Kwanzaa, will address the RIT community Dec. 12.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa, is coming to RIT to celebrate the holiday observance on Friday, Dec. 12, in the Student Alumni Union cafeteria. The event begins with a candle-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. and concludes with a free, communal harvest dinner.

“Kwanzaa is all about unity and our number one priority is to enable RIT students to come together to celebrate African culture,” says Wanda Dansler-Hill, program coordinator for RIT’s North Star Center for Academic Success and Cultural Affairs. “Lucky for us, North Star’s liaison to Student Affairs, Dr. Elleni Tedla, knows Dr. Karenga and was able to contact him about visiting our campus.”

Karenga is professor and chair of the black studies department at California State University at Long Beach and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture. In 1966, the California philosopher created the holiday of Kwanzaa in the midst of movements for civil rights and black power—hoping to unify Africans on the home continent and blacks in the rest of the world.

Kwanzaa runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, and the tenets of the holiday’s Seven Principals are celebrated by millions of people across the world. During the seven days of Kwanzaa, one principle a day is celebrated.

A holiday with many purposes, the first beacon comes with the lighting of the unity candle—signifying the oneness in family, community, nation and race—and ends with a joyous celebration with food, drink, dance and music.

“We come together to give thanks, to recognize ancestors and celebrate a successful harvest,” explains Dansler-Hill. “We will close the evening ceremony with a feast called ‘karamu’—which includes collard greens, yams, wild rice and chicken. Kwanzaa is a time of celebration and a time of taking pride in our heritage.”

The Kwanzaa event is limited to 450 people. For reservations, call 5-4704.