Yes We Can

Habaragani (''What's the good news?'' in Swahili):

December 26 marks the first day of the African American cultural holiday known as Kwanzaa. I would like to share my thoughts on the first of seven principles, known as the Nguzo Saba. Today’s principle is Umoja, which is the Swahili word for Unity. The principle simply suggests that we “strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race."

We’ve all heard the saying, “there is strength in numbers,” and after the 2008 Presidential Election we saw firsthand what happens when people get on one accord. Most recently, we heard or read about how various entities have come together to improve their conditions. Whether it was the automobile industry executives lobbying Congress for a bailout, or the Chicago factory workers who refused to disband until their former employer honored their contractual obligations, we saw what happens when forces unite. Even workers who never shared a cup of coffee began carpooling as gas prices increased. While many of these relationships may have never existed before, desperate times called for desperate measures. The same can be said for the situations in our families, communities and in the world.

In the next few months, I believe we will begin to see cooperation like never before. This concept was not foreign to our foreparents who raised each other’s children, fed their neighbors, and cared for the orphans and widows of their ilk.

While many black Christians are a tad skeptical about the nonreligious celebration, to me, the principle of Umoja that Kwanzaa creator Dr. Maulana Karenga proposes is similar to the message shared by Pastor Hezekiah Walker when he sings, “I Need You To Survive.”


“I need you, you need me.
We're all a part of God's body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We're all a part of God's body.
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive”

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we must begin to consider how we can combine our various resources to make our families, communities and world a better place for our children and our children’s children.


Happy Kwanzaa!!!
Arlecia

Visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org for more information about Kwanzaa