2020 - 2021 #KwanzaaDC Celebration

Kwanzaa, a holiday based upon the African tradition of celebrating the harvesting of the first fruits, was created and introduced for Black people in the United Stated by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. Kwanzaa is the ingathering of the people, a special reverence for the Creator and creation, a commemoration of the past, a recommitment to our highest ideals, and a celebration of all that is good. It is a time of reflecting, reassessing, recommitting, rewarding, and rejoicing in an atmosphere of peace, love and unity. Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days: December 26th  through January 1^st. The seven days are based upon the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles), with each day being symbolic of one of the principles.

 

 

NGUZO SABA (The Seven Principles)

• 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 brothers and sisters problems our problems to and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses 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 restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way that 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.

 

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DC KWANZAA PLANNING COMMITTEE - Kwanzaa EVENTS calendar

 

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020 - UMOJA (UNITY)

 

National Museum of African American History & Culture - Kwanzaa Webpage Launch

Website: nmaahc.si.edu/kwanzaa

 

Description: This holiday season, the museum is offering an online resource to guide families through Kwanzaa. In this new digital resources dedicated to exploring the holiday celebration of African American culture, visitors will learn about the holiday's creation and access several activities rooted in Kwanzaa' seven principles: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work & Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). Interactive content and projects include a blog on Kwanzaa, its origins and celebration traditions from museum oral historian Kelly Navies, sing-alongs, coloring pages, book recommendations and recipes for the celebration feast Karamu Ya Imani. The webpage will be available for viewing on December 26 at nmaahc.si.edu/kwanzaa

 

 

51st Annual Kwanzaa Children's Party

Time: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: Children ages 3 - 12. This event is sponsored by the Kwanzaa Children’s Party Committee/ H Street CDC/ African Freedom Fund & DC Kwanzaa Planning Committee/ Black Seeds. Featuring FaraFina Kan, Kuumba Kids and Taritibu. Activities will include Libation, Candle-lighting, Storytelling, Youth Entrepreneurs, Spoken Word by Youth, and Words of Wisdom from Elders. For more information please call, 202.390.3164 or 240.832.7203.

 

 

Umoja Means Unity! Celebrate the first Day of Kwanzaa with Weems the People

Time: 4:00 pm -5:30 pm

Register: Eventbrite Link

 

Description: Umoja Means Unity! Come celebrate the first day of Kwanzaa with Weems the People. We will learn about the history and significance of the Kwanzaa (first fruits) observance, discuss the Nguzo Saba (seven principles), light the kinara (candle holder) with our children in a traditional cultural ceremony, then hear the amazing story of our ancestor's relentless effort to escape captivity and unite their family in freedom.

 

 

The Annual Umoja Candle Lighting Ceremony and Umoja Celebration by LCPAN

Time: 7:00 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: Join LCPAN and the DC Kwanzaa Planning Committee in celebration of Umoja Night – Global Unity during Virtual Times. Now more than ever we must continue to live by the guiding principles of the Nguzo Saba. Join us on December 26, 2020 via Zoom as we celebrate the first night of Kwanzaa. Call 202.529.3635 for more information.

 

 

 

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2020 - KUJICHAGULIA (SELF-DETERMINATION)

 

Kwanzaa Candle Lighting Celebration & Program by the Ausar Auset Society

Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: Join us on December 27, 2020 for Kujichagulia Night Theme: Justice for All. This event will feature a panel discussion on Social Justice, performed by Holly Girlz. Intergenerational guitar playing, traditional Kwanzaa songs, and virtual children’s parade. Children’s activities will be available. Arts and crafts supply kits will be available at Senbeb Coop, 6224 3^rd Street NW starting December 19^th to 26^th. Contact AAS.Kwanzaa2020@gmail.com for more information.

 

 

 

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 - UJIMA (COLLECTIVE WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY)

 

Ujima Joint Virtual Kwanzaa Event & Candle Lighting Service by House of Ra, Obi, AfiSoul and Amenika.

Time: 7:00 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: Enjoy Hip-Hop, R&B, Go-Go, Neo Soul, Spoken Word, and Dance. Call 424.533.2868 or email ujimajoint@gmail.com for more information.

 

 

 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2020 - UJAMAA (COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS)

 

Appeal Inc. – Ujamaa Night Kwanzaa Candle Lighting Celebration & Program

Time: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: Featuring Jessica Gordon Nembhard, author, Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice with performances by Kuumba Kids and Farafina Kan. For more information call, 1-800-711-7851 or visit APPEALInc.org/events.

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020 - NIA (PURPOSE)

 

The Woodson Banneker Jackson-Bey Division 330 UNIA-ACL Kwanzaa Nia Celebration

Time: 6:00 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: This event is in partnership with the Heritage Gallery International, We Act Radio, and Busboys & Poets with a candle lighting ceremony, vocal performances, African drumming and dancing, and presentation of the Marcus Mosiah Garvey Outstanding Community Service Awards. Join us for our annual Kwanzaa event as we celebrate 100 years of Convention, 100 years of the Red, Black, and Green flag and 40 years as a Washington, DC Division in 2020! Admission is free. For more information call, 202.529.3935 or 202.780.8443 and visit the website at www.unia-acl330.org.

 

 

 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020 - KUUMBA (CREATIVITY)

 

Collective Sharing for Collective Hearing

Time: 5:00 pm – 8:45 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: Join AWHA for a virtual presentation of community healing. The keynote speaker is Dr. Alim Muhammad, topic Creatively Bringing Healing to the Community.

Performers: Ayana Gregory, Ka’ba Soul Singer, MuMu Fresh, Bilan Sunni Ali

Invited Speakers: Dr. Gerald Douglas ND, Dr. Yew Shekhem Tepraim Sa, Mama Ayo Handy-Kendi, Chaka Zula, Dr. Kokayi Patterson, and others. For program information or update, go to cehaw.com/events or call, 202.517.4262.

 

 

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2021 - IMANI (FAITH)

 

Community Kwanzaa Imani Celebration and Afrikan Consciousness Award Presentation

Time: 6:00 pm

Meeting ID: 825 5737 2441 | Password: VDH1WA

 

Description: This event is co-sponsored by the DC PanAfrikan Council of Elders who will be honoring outstanding members of the next generation of leaders, carrying the torch of freedom in this century. Ancestral Altar by ADACI. Performances by the Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers, Benjamin Sands, Ka’Ba Soul singer and presentation of this year’s Afrikan Consciousness Award to our distinguished Afrikan Elder and Master Drummer, Joseph Ngwa. Let’s close out this year’s Kwanzaa celebration together on a positive upbeat note. Call 240.832.7203 or 202.529.3635 for more information.

 

 

 

The DC Kwanzaa Planning Committee coordinates Kwanzaa celebrations throughout the Greater Washington DC Metropolitan Area. For more information visit KwanzaaDC.org, email KwanzaaDC@gmail.com, or visit the DC Kwanzaa Planning Committee Facebook Page.