The Black Candle: Kwanzaa and the Seven Principles o Nguzo Saba

The film The Black Candle highlighted Kwanzaa as an African American inspired celebration of ‘Blackness’ and Afrikan culture. Mr. Asante created a thought-provoking and uplifting documentary that chronicles the historical context and development of the global celebration. However, more importantly, the production provided insight into the valuable and transferable principles of Nguzo Saba and their relevant applications for Afrikans and all peoples in contemporary society. I consider this work a valuable tool for discussing current issues facing the Afrikan community and all marginalized groups through its novel use of history, commentary, spoken word and positive images and in my humble opinion, engaging works like this should be part of the high school curriculum. The subsequent classroom discussion regarding the film was also very lively and generated valuable cultural links to continuous learning and individual/communal identity. I found it interesting to listen to other student’s positive and negative perspectives on the holiday and the ensuing debate about its general practicality and relevance. It was obvious that some individuals embraced the unique celebration of family, community and culture while others viewed it as a meaningless social and cultural construct.

Growing up in a small African Nova Scotian community outside of Metro, Kwanzaa was never part of the holidays. In fact, I was first introduced to Kwanzaa as a university student at Dalhousie University through a collective of students committed to cultural awareness, community development and social justice. However, I did not fully grasp its purpose, relevance and potential value for Afrikan peoples until almost a decade later when I was re-acquainted with it as a Regional Educator for the Black Educators Association and was involved in creating several communal Kwanzaa celebrations in Truro. Unfortunately, the activities were always singular and sporadic events that were never well-attended or recognized regardless of the efforts to get the community involved. Still, I have observed a general reverence for the values of Nguzo Saba within the conscious African Nova Scotian community regardless of whether individuals adopt the formal post-Christmas celebration.

According to Maulana Karenga, “There is no way to understand and appreciate the meaning and message of Kwanzaa without understanding and appreciating its profound and pervasive concern for values”( http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml  ). The Nguzo Saba provide the fundamental underpinnings of Kwanzaa but are broader concepts that are relevant to all peoples. The film describes how the principles can be actualized and integrated into our daily lives and the collective struggle against oppression. I have known what the principles represent for some time. However, the way that they were presented in the documentary resonated with me in a very personal way. I now have them posted on a bulletin board in my office and try to refer to them daily. These principles can be widely utilized as a valuable organizational/communal checklist, as a personal affirmation or as general guideline for community development. They highlight the ‘collectiveness’ of community and are ideals that Afrikans and all peoples should attempt to  embody in their everyday lives. They are intrinsically critical of the hegemonic beliefs of the dominant culture and seek to empower and refocus individuals within a unique and marginalized community of practice. They can help us define who we are as a community.

The principles of Nguzo Saba are also in-line with our developing understanding of lifelong learning obtained through the classroom discussion, course assignments and required readings. All of the underlying values can be applied to continuous learning and I would suggest that both our formal and informal modes of education would look very different if they reflected these ideals. How we teach, what we teach and the goals of learning would all be radically altered. Every learner would become the central, active participant in their own learning; they would determine the pace and direction of learning and they would engage in genuine socio-economic and political discourse. Consider the values and belief systems we would cultivate and the type of society we would create for ourselves...