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Kwanzaa -- the holiday began in 1967 by Marxist Ron Karenga, who would later serve time for felony assault for viciously torturing two women, then become chairman of the black studies department at California State University, Long Beach -- is this week. Do you know anybody who celebrates it? Yes No. I think more people celebrate Festivus.

Pauline Foster's advice to her 11-year-old daughter, Nanyamka Graham, was simple: Shake it and smile. The two Lauderhill residents were part of the nearly 100 performers at the Kwanzaa celebration at Broward County's Main Library in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night. Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday that celebrates family, community and culture, began Tuesday and ends Jan 1. Each day focuses on a different principle, and Tuesday's was unity. This year is the holiday's 40th anniversary. ''It's a family gathering,'' said 11-year-old performer Tameka Lewis, decked out in a bright pink costume. ``We learn about our black brothers and sisters and ancestors.''...

It amazes me that this Kwanza business has been washed of the real life criminal activity of its creator. The man was a race monger, a violent thug, a rapist, a torturer... just a horrible human being. Yet never a word of this man's evil is ever uttered when his pseudo holiday is discussed in the MSM. And the Cox News Service did it again on Christmas in theirs titled Kwanzaa glows even brighter after 40 years. Kwanzaa turns 40 today. The colorful holiday, invented by California professor Maulana Ron Karenga in 1966, is like a jazz musician who fuses...

Cox News Honors Kwanzaa Creator, A Rapist and Torturer by Warner Todd Huston on December 26, 2006 It amazes me that this Kwanzaa business has been washed of the real life criminal activity of its creator. The man was a race monger, a violent thug, a rapist, a torturer... just a horrible human being. Yet never a word of this man's evil is ever uttered when his pseudo holiday is discussed in the MSM. And the Cox News Service did it again on Christmas in theirs titled Kwanzaa glows even brighter after 40 years. Kwanzaa turns 40 today. The colorful...

Learn about Kwanzaa, it's worth celebrating By Akilah Monifa COMMENTARY I CELEBRATE Kwanzaa, a holiday that honors family, community and culture. My family and I have done so for years. But five years after Sept. 11, in this climate of religious and cultural intolerance in America, I can sympathize with Muslims here who feel like outsiders. Many white Americans are suspicious and fearful of Kwanzaa. Like other holidays that are celebrated predominantly by people of color -- such as Ramadan, Juneteenth, Holi, Hispanic Heritage Month -- Kwanzaa ought to be an opportunity for those who are unfamiliar with it to...

Kwanzaa is Right Around the Corner LOS ANGELES, CA (CNS) -- The seven-day festival of Kwanzaa begins tomorrow, marking its 40th anniversary amid growing official acceptance and criticism of its authenticity and value. Maulana Karenga, a professor in Cal State Long Beach's Department of Black Studies, created Kwanzaa in 1966 in an attempt to reaffirm and restore blacks' ties to African culture, reaffirm and reinforce bonds among blacks and to introduce and reinforce the ''Nguzo Saba,'' the Seven Principles, according to the Official Kwanzaa Web Site, www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org. The Seven Principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose,...

Article published Dec 25, 2006 "Kwanzaa Not Catching on Despite Black Population" Cox said he and many other blacks respect the holiday, but there are barriers to its broader acceptance. Associated Press Columbia, S.C. | It has been four decades since Kwanzaa was created as an African-American celebration of family and community, but in that time it has not resonated widely in South Carolina, a state where one-third of the population is black. "I personally don't know a single person who celebrates the holiday," said Marcus Cox, founding director of the African-American Studies Program at The Citadel. The holiday was...

Kwanzaa Principles Help to Serve Our Children by Naeemah Carter Baltimore Times Originally posted 12/21/2006 The National CASA Association shares one unique volunteer opportunity As the holiday season and New Year arrive, so does our increased attention to the needs of our families and communities. No matter what your holiday traditions may be, it is important to remember those around us who are less fortunate. Our children, often overlooked in the holiday season, need your help more than ever to make their lives more stable and safe. Often, we search for the perfect time to get involved in personally rewarding...

Blacks object to cows roaming near tribute to former slave By Olivia Munoz ASSOCIATED PRESS December 21, 2006 ALLENSWORTH – Basque immigrant Sam Etchegaray had two seemingly perfect swaths for two large dairies: 2,000 rural acres of dusty fields in the Central Valley where thousands of cows would be at home in the No. 1 milk-producing county in the nation. The only problem is the pastures were next to a state park that pays tribute to a freed slave who founded the community, raising the ire of environmentalists and blacks who objected to the pollution and stench that would come...

EAST ST. LOUIS — Its official start was still a week away, but the sound of traditional African drums Tuesday night gave proof that for some, Kwanzaa had already started. With a rousing performance, about seven members of Sunshine Lee and the Community Performance Ensemble kicked off the Eugene B. Redmond Writing Club's 20th annual Kwanzaa celebration at the East St. Louis campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Kids celebrate Kwanzaa Holiday: School lessons culminate in festivities honoring heritage of African-Americans. By Araceli Esparza, Staff writer Long Beach Press Telegram Article Launched:12/17/2006 08:31:08 PM PST NORWALK - Alasdair Jackson, a fourth-grader at Morrison Elementary School, said he's gaining valuable lessons about life and mankind. "I'm learning about other people's cultures. And the more I learn about other people's cultures, the more I learn about people," the 9-year-old said. As a student in Diahann Greenidge's class, Jackson and his classmates are exploring a new aspect to their traditional holiday season. They're learning about Kwanzaa, the week-long secular holiday that...

Kwanzaa: A Holiday From the FBI by Ann Coulter President Bush's 2005 Kwanzaa message began with the patently absurd statement: "African-Americans and people around the world reflect on African heritage during Kwanzaa." I believe more African-Americans spent this season reflecting on the birth of Christ than some phony non-Christian holiday invented a few decades ago by an FBI stooge. Kwanzaa is a holiday for white liberals, not blacks. It is a fact that Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by a black radical FBI stooge, Ron Karenga, aka Dr. Maulana Karenga. Karenga was a founder of United Slaves, a violent nationalist...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue released the following statement today on the Christmas wars: “The secular crusaders who want to neuter Christmas say ad nauseam that the reason why we have to give more attention to holidays other than Christmas is due to the increasingly diverse composition of our nation and the world. But it is a hoax: the evidence is just the opposite. “According to Boston University professor Stephen Prothero, America now has more Christians than any other nation in history (Christian Science Monitor, 12-23-03). ‘In terms of religious background,’ writes Hoover Institution scholar Dinesh D’Souza, ‘America is no...

Another vanity on FR..but one that is important at this time. I am seeing a bit of a disturbing trend going on that I had not seen in previous years...the absence of Christmas/Holiday Concerts and Plays going on at local schools around the country. From New Jersey to Florida to Georgia to California these stories have been shared with me and I have even seen it happen with my own child. My brothers kids are not having a performance at their school this year, a close friend who is a teacher in the Orlando area says it was "phased out"...

Much has changed since 1966, when Maulana Karenga founded Kwanzaa. "I remember people saying, 'Who does he think he is, starting a holiday?' " said Shirley Weber, a San Diego State University professor of Africana studies. "They questioned the right of us to determine who we are. They said, 'Ain't nobody going to do that.' " Now, 39 years later, millions of people of African descent around the world celebrate Kwanzaa. "Kwanzaa helps you every year to remind you of who you are," Weber said. Last night, about 150 people gathered to celebrate Kwanzaa, honoring their ancestors, roots and the...

President Bush's 2005 Kwanzaa message began with the patently absurd statement: "African-Americans and people around the world reflect on African heritage during Kwanzaa." I believe more African-Americans spent this season reflecting on the birth of Christ than some phony non-Christian holiday invented a few decades ago by an FBI stooge. Kwanzaa is a holiday for white liberals, not blacks. It is a fact that Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by a black radical FBI stooge, Ron Karenga, aka Dr. Maulana Karenga. Karenga was a founder of United Slaves, a violent nationalist rival to the Black Panthers and a dupe of...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 28, 2005) -- December is a month of celebration for multiple faiths, making the holiday season an extra busy time for chaplains in Iraq. Between Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the Islamic Hajj, Navy Capt. Vince Arnold, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) group chaplain, knows the importance of providing for all service members, regardless of religious preferences. “This time of a year the three main religious groups being Judaism, Christianity and Islam, trace back their genealogy to one person: Abraham,” The Newport, N.C. native said. “It’s interesting that we are in Iraq during this season because this...

President Bush December 19 sent warm greetings to all who are celebrating Kwanzaa -- a seven-day observance emphasizing seven principles of African culture. Kwanzaa, which will begin December 26, represents an African-American and pan-African holiday celebrating family, community and culture. For additional information see Holidays and African Americans. Following is the text of the statement: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary December 19, 2005 December 2005 I send greetings to those observing Kwanzaa. African Americans and people around the world reflect on African heritage during Kwanzaa. The seven days of this celebration emphasize the seven principles of Nguzo...

Today's Chicago Tribune notes that Kwanzaa was created "by African-American scholar Maulana Karenga." A check of the Tribune's own archives discloses that he could have been characterized somewhat differently. On October 7, 1970 the newspaper reported: "Black militant Ron Karenga was arrested with three of his followers today on charges he tortured two young women with a soldering iron and a vise. . .Investigators said the women were held at gunpoint, forced to disrobe and were beaten. At one point, it was charged, Karenga forced a hot soldering iron inside the mouth of one of the victims while the other...

Kwanzaa, the African-American and pan-African celebration of family, community and culture, began with festivities of music, spoken words, togetherness and more throughout the region yesterday. This year's theme, "A Season of Celebration, Meditation and Recommitment," was heralded yesterday at places such as the Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, where members of the Kwanzaa Collective gave out awards to those who had best exemplified the holiday's principles, to individual homes, where families lit the first candle on the kinara, or candle holder. "People interested in their culture want to celebrate the good about family, community and culture, which is...