kwanzaa
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Habari Gani?! Kujichagulia! Cardi B Was the Embodiment of Self-Determination in 2017
This year, for each day of Kwanzaa, The Root is highlighting one person from the community who exemplifies the principle of the day. On the second day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 27, the principle is Kujichagulia, or “self-determination.” To practice Kujichagulia is to define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.…
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Watch: What Do You Know About Kwanzaa?
This article originally ran on Dec. 27, 2017. When The Root video producer P.J. Rickards and I stepped onto the streets of Harlem (full disclosure: my beloved hood), we were both surprised at the dearth of information about Kwanzaa, the African-American cultural holiday started more than 50 years ago. Honestly, I think Kwanzaa was more…
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Trump Issued a 3-Sentence ‘Happy Kwanzaa’ Statement, and I Don’t Think He Wrote Any of It
I guess it’s customary for the president of the United States to say “Happy Kwanzaa,” but who really thought that Donald Trump would follow this tradition? Since taking office, Trump has done everything except don a white hood with eye cutouts to show his support of white nationalism, white supremacy and white power while in…
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Watch: ‘Make Kwanzaa Great Again’ Campaign Video
[This post originally ran on Dec. 26, 2017.] Many people have wondered why Kwanzaa is not a bigger holiday or why it is overshadowed by Christmas every year (and when we say “many people,” like our esteemed president, we mean four … maybe five, tops). In response, we decided to celebrate Kwanzaa Week by pouring…
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Habari Gani?! Umoja! Tarana Burke Was the Embodiment of Unity in 2017
This year, The Root is making the blackest holiday of them all great again! And for each day of Kwanzaa, we will be highlighting one person from the community who exemplifies the principle of the day. On the first day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 26, the principle is Umoja, or “unity.” To practice Umoja is to…
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Welcome to Kwanzaa Week at The Root!
Yes, we’re serious. When I was asked (or, um, “volunteered”) to edit our Kwanzaa Week series, I was hype! Last year, I decided to try to celebrate the holiday for the first time in a long time. This was pre-Donald Trump, and my family and I admittedly bumbled through it, but now more than ever, this…
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#MakeKwanzaaGreatAgain, Explained
Sure. This will be one of our shortest explainers ever. The Root has started a grassroots campaign to place Kwanzaa at the top of the list of the most important black cultural traditions. Essentially—I know it’s hard to tell our intentions from the hashtag—we want to make Kwanzaa great again. No need to be embarrassed.…
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Watch: Kwanzaa Is Like Christmas, Just 7 Times Blacker
This video originally appeared on Dec. 19, 2017. Have you ever looked at your kids and thought their little narrow behinds could show more appreciation for the countless Jordans and Apple products you buy them for Christmas? Have you been looking for seven ways to be a better person as you usher in the new…
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Taking My Kids to See White Santa Might Be My Most Unwoke Parenting Act and I’m Sorry
Please forgive me, for I have sinned. The other night, I participated in an act of personal fraudulence and general unwokeness that has caused me great shame as a black man generally and a writer here specifically. We’ve had a good run here, you and I, over the past couple of years, sharing humorous tomes…