I get that the objective of Kwanzaa is to establish and restore community. Kwanzaa is done as a group.
However, if I’m going to be observing Kwanzaa, then I need to make it personal first.
Kwanzaa needs to be relevant to me before I can make it relevant for my family, my household, and my community. The Nguzo Saba (seven principles of Kwanzaa) need to be personally relevant to me.
Kujichagulia (KOO-jee-cha-GOO-lee-ah). Oh, I love this principle! What do I determine about myself?
- I define myself as a woman. Not a “girl”, “gal”, “chick”, “broad”, or “b-word”. Further explanation should not be required.
- I name myself Black American, because Black is the skin that I was born with and America is the country that I was born in. “African-American” doesn’t define us as a people anymore, because White citizens of Africa can logically identify as “African-American”, and I need an identity that only people who look like me can use.
- I create for myself a place–a space–where my self is celebrated. My woman-ness. My Blackness. My Not-Like-Anyone-Else-Ness.
There is nothing about me that I need to apologize for. I am who and what I have been created to be.
I think that I am going to enjoy this process…
