Yesterday,  December 26th marked the beginning of the African Diasporic celebration known as Kwanzaa.  and if you already know about it then this post is for you.  There’s something you’re not getting.

For those who may not know I’ll briefly list the basics here.  For 7 days a commemoration of 7 principles (Nguzo Saba one per day) essential to many African cultures and to communities of Black people around the world.

Those principles are:

Umoja (Unity) – to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) – to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) – to build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) – to build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose) – to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) - to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith) - to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

I love the festivity and the drumming and dancing.  And and seeing flags with Red Black and Green always rocks my bells….. but why oh why does all that energy amount to just  song, dance and good times without producing any tangible manifestations of the principles we celebrate?

Let’s see some Collective Work & Responsibility (Ujima) in the month of April.   How about some Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa) through out the year instead of just the last few days at the Black History Month Bazaar?  Whether its president Obama,  Reverend Jeremiah Wright,  Minister Louis Farrakhan or you, Self Determination (Kujichagulia) is everyone’s birthright.  Just because it makes some people nervous does not mean that we shouldn’t talk about issues of relevance to the black community.  Its OK.  Marianne Williamson said “It is not enlightened or spiritual to diminish yourself so that others may feel good about themselves.”

Lets make Umoja, Nia and Imani a daily reality in 2010.  Here’s to Peace, Self Improvement and Community Development.