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 be remember it) That way we’ll be ready to celebrate it the way we should when Toddler is bigger.
So, for 2023 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 5 is Nia. It means Purpose. The process is much of the same, light the previous candles, and then light the green one that is next to the Black candle. The person who lights it then makes a statement about Purpose. I’ve read that this means to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. This year I’m going to try to get on library reading lists and make sure that everyone is represented in any of the lists I touch. I’m also interested in looking into highlighting Black women and their intersectionality. This is my year to ensure that all types of Black women, Light, Dark, Albino, Black with red hair and freckles, locs, pixie cut, fat, mid size, straight size, LGBTQ+, urban and suburban, those with no health issues, and those with, those with mental health issues, and those without. I want to celebrate us ALL. I want to see us all win.
The book I thought about first when thinking of uplifting
in the Black Community was:
One thing that people don’t always realize is climate justice and social justice go hand in hand. It falls under so many of the pillars: Access, Equity, Human Rights, Diversity, and Participation. In this one, these teens are fighting to help get clear air in Seattle, while also worried about the jobs on the docks. These teens are way ahead of their time. They spent the entire book learning more and then informing the people around them about the damage they’re doing to the Earth. And tho they don’t get very far, they are doing the work. Their work will not go unnoticed and they had proven they will continue to do the work. I chose this because they started with their families, the Black community. And there’s even a nugget of information that tells why Black people live in certain places and a lot of those places have so many of our people with cancer. Read this so you can find out the info too!
What about you? What books do you think of when you think of Nia or Purpose? Do you think of this one as well? Let me know in the comments!