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.) 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. 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 3 is Ujima. It means Collective Work and Responsibility. The candle order is the Black one and then the two farthest left red ones. The process is much of the same, light the other two candles in order and then light the two far left red ones. The person who lights it then makes a statement about Collective Work and Responsibility. To me this means community. Coming together to stop what we know to be harming us. What immediately comes to mind are the Boycotts that have been happening. From the SMP one, to the Times one, to the Amazon one happening now. Seeing everyone come together and actually making change is beautiful to see. Here’s to hoping real change can come from these boycotts.
The book I thought about first that reminded me of
uplifting their community was:
I chose this one because of the Book Banners. The main character has to come together with the help of the community, or the PTA, to help figure out what happened to the principal. And believe me when I say she couldn’t have solved this one by herself if she tried. She used the PTA, the people that lived around the school, and so much more. She worked with everyone to ensure that the school could have the best books they could. (And of course to help the principal, but come on, BOOK BANNERS SUCK!)
What about you? What books do you think of when you think of Ujima or Collective Work and Responsibility? Do you think of this one as well? Let me know in the comments!