Pre-Kwanzaa Workshop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Viola T. Johnson
(504) 813-9008

What: Pre-Kwanzaa Workshop

Theme: The Spirit of the Black Family/Community

When: December 3, 2011

Time: 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. --Breakfast Served.
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon --Workshop and Activities
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon --Vendor Marketplace

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Place: Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, New Orleans

Contact: (504) 569-9070

NEW ORLEANS, LA.-Ashé Cultural Arts Center, in partnership with The Umoja Committee, presents a Pre-Kwanzaa Workshop entitled "The Spirit of the Black Family/Community." The event takes place at Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, on December 3, 2011, 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon, and is free and open to the public.

Kwanzaa, a cultural holiday, introduces and emphasizes seven basic values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and traditions. The purpose of the Pre-Kwanzaa event is to familiarize the community with this celebration, and to teach them, through lectures and demonstrations, about the positive impact that the associated principles/values have on their everyday lives. The seven principles (Nguzo Saba) and symbols will be taught, and vendors will be on hand to sell cultural items used as implements in the celebration. Participants will leave the workshop knowledgeable about hosting their own Kwanzaa celebrations and will garner information designed to strengthen their relationships.

If you are interested in participating in the Pre-Kwanzaa Workshop, call (504) 569-9070 to register.

ABOUT KWANZAA
Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26 through January 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach, author and scholar-activist, who stresses the indispensable need to preserve, continually revitalize and promote African American culture. Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one, thus can be practiced by all religious faiths.

The Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba)
The seven principles (Nguzo Saba)are a set of ideals created by Dr. Karenga. Each day of Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle.

• 1. Umoja: Unity
  To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• 2. Kujichagulia: Self-determination
  To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

•3. 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.

• 4. Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics
  To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• 5. Nia: Purpose
  To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• 6. 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.
• 7. 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.