Enjoy Kwanzaa with the African-American Museum --- online this year instead of in person
- Dec 26, 2020
- 2 min read
Join in the 7-day reflection and celebration at the African-American Museum online
FRESNO, CA--Usually the African-American Historical & Cultural Museum of the San Joaquin Valley (AAHCMSJV) holds a seven-day Kwanzaa celebration at its facility at 6:15 PM daily--it's happened for over the last three decades until COVID-19 interfered. The AAHCMSJV, located in Fresno County, is considered a nonessential business.
The AAHCMSJV facility is temporarily closed due to recent state and county COVID-19 restrictions; the staff and board of directors are transitioning all of their activities to online.
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture that is held from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast, usually held on the 6th day. Dr. Maulana Karenga introduced the reflective holiday in 1966 to the United States as a ritual to welcome the first harvests to the home. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits."
The seven principles, the Nguzo Saba, (n-GU-zo SAH-bah) refers to the seven principles upon which Kwanzaa is based. There is one principle for each of the seven days starting with Umoja, unity; Kujichagulia, self-determination marks day two; day three is Ujima, which reveres collective work and responsibility for the development and preservation of Black communities; day five, Ujamaa, or cooperative economics, urges Black communities to invest in themselves; Nia means purpose and is the focus of day five; the sixth day’s theme is Kuumba, which represents creativity. Finally, Kwanzaa closes with the seventh day, Imani which means faith.
Instead of the usual, public the 7-day reflective exercise and celebration in person, people can watch excerpts of the events from the African-American Museum's past Kwanzaa reflections in above on-demand video playlist. They also have more information on Kwanzaa on their website here.
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