One holiday tradition my mom always wanted to do with us but never did is celebrate Kwanzaa. She did educate me on what it is and what everything means, but we never got around to ever doing it. But now that I’m starting my own family, I wanted to do celebrate this year (even if Toddler won’t remember it lol) That way we’ll be ready to celebrate it the way we should when Toddler is bigger.
So, for 2024 I decided to celebrate Kwanzaa through literature again. I’ll be listing the principles for each day along with a book that matches the principles. If you can think of other titles that match the principles, tell me, I’d love to discuss.
Day 1 is Umoja. It means Unity. For this day you light the Black candle in the middle and the person who lights it makes a statement about Unity. My statement about Unity this year comes from the 92% and how it finally became apparent that we’re all we got. Black women are going to be the ones who take care of other Black women and you can’t tell me different. May the 92% stay together and stay connected this year and on.
The book I thought about first that reminded me of the unity we shared when coming together was:
I chose Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride because of the way this kid and the rest of his family came together when the mom was suffering from dementia. Even when they didn’t know it. And the way he was protecting his mom by trying to act like this wasn’t happening was so scary, but it also showed the love he had for her. I was also impressed with the way he was able to keep this going for so long. But he was smart enough to talk only to the people he trusted and from there he was able to keep everything underwraps and keep his mother safe. This book impressed me so much I think because they all unified to take care of this baby and didn’t even know what he needed the protection from. Unity in community is truly amazing.
What about you? What books do you think of when you think of Umoja or Unity? Do you think of this one as well? Let me know in the comments!