The Shameful Origins of Kwanzaa

On July 14, 1941, Ron N. Everett was born on a poultry farm in Parsonsburg, Maryland, the 14th child of a Baptist preacher. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he attended universities in California, receiving his Master's degree in political science and African studies. In the early '60s, Everett met Malcolm X and began to embrace Black Nationalism, a radical political ideology of Black separatism that developed in the US during the 20th century.

Within a few years, Everett had adopted one of many pseudo-African pseudonyms to come, "Ron Ndabezitha Everett-Karenga," and awarded himself the title "maulana," which is Swahili for "master teacher." He shaved his head, donned African-style robes, and began a cult called US (for "United Slaves"), which gained some following and set itself up (almost as a rival gang) against the Black Panthers, who shared some views and differed on others.

In 1969, the US and the Black Panthers found themselves bitterly divided over who would head the newly-formed Afro-American Studies Center at UCLA. In their dispute, they even began to carry guns on campus. The Black Student Union set up a lunchroom discussion to try to find a solution to the situation. During the meeting, which was held on January 17, 1969, two Black Panthers verbally harangued Karenga. As soon as the meeting was over, those two Panthers were shot dead in a UCLA hallway by two of Karenga's followers.

Amazingly, UCLA officials do not seem to have been particularly bothered by the murder of two black students on their campus. Investigating the crime would have forced them to examine the illegal and unethical activities of the black campus groups they were so busy kowtowing to.

After the incident, Karenga grew increasingly paranoid. On May 9, 1970, after deciding that two of his female followers, who were living with him, were trying to kill him by putting "poison crystals" in his food, he and two other followers, Louis Smith and Luz Maria Tamayo, forced thet two women to strip and viciously tortured them over a period of several days. According to the LA Times:

"When they denied [poisoning Karenga], allegedly they were beaten with an electrical cord and a hot soldering iron was put in Miss Davis' mouth and against her face. Police were told that one of Miss Jones' toes was placed in a small vise which then was allegedly tightened by one of the defendants. The following day, Karenga allegedly told the women that 'Vietnamese torture is nothing compared to what I know." Miss Tamayo reportedly put detergent in their mouths, Smith turned a water hose full force on their faces, and Karenga, holding a gun, threatened to shoot both of them."

The three were eventually convicted of felonious assault and false imprisonment, and on September 17 of the following year, Karenga was sentenced to one to 10 years in prison (he served about four). The following is from a transcript of a psychiatrist's report, read at Karenga's sentencing hearing (the key issue of which was whether Karenga was sane):

"Since his admission here he has been isolated and has been exhibiting bizarre behavior, such as staring at the wall, talking to imaginary persons, claiming that he was attacked by dive-bombers and that his attorney was in the next cell... During part of the interview he would look around as if reacting to hallucination and when the examiner walked away for a moment he began a conversation with a blanket located on his bed, stating that there was someone there and implying indirectly that the 'someone' was a woman imprisoned with him for some offense. This man now presents a picture which can be considered both paranoid and schizophrenic, with hallucinations ... and impaired contact with the environment."

During his tenure at California State Prison, Karenga adopted a Marxist ideology and upon his release in 1975, re-established "US." In 1977, Karenga formed a religion called "Kawaida," a form of Marxist secular humanism. Central to the doctrine are the "Seven Principles of Blackness," which were to be celebrated during a seven-day holiday called Kwanzaa, which Karenga had invented in 1966. The principles (unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith) emphasize black separatism and Socialism. The movement rejected all other religion as "mythical." On Christianity, Karenga has this to say: "Belief in spooks who threaten us if we don't worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives must be categorized as spookism and condemned."

Kwanzaa itself is a corruption of a Swahili word for harvest. There are many unanswered questions about why Karenga created a holiday based on a nonexistent harvest festival in the winter, when almost nothing is harvested anywhere, and why he used a vocabulary of Swahili words when Swahili is spoken in Eastern Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) and the vast majority of American blacks are descended from West Africans (Ghana). One can only assume he didn't bother to do his research. Some have suggested that, despite his rhetoric, Karenga isn't very fond of black people at all. "I put it around Christmas because I knew that's when a lot of [blacks] would be partying," he said in 1978. Kwanzaa has very pagan roots. Karenga and his followers practice ancestor worship and partake in a "libation" ceremony, during which they ask their ancestors to be spiritual intercessors between them and God, thereby putting their African ancestors quite literally in the place of Jesus Christ.

By 1979, four years after leaving prison and only 10 years since his dispute over the head of the Afro-American Studies Center at UCLA ended with two men shot to death for speaking against him, the newly-minted Maulana Ron Karenga was made the head of the Black Studies Department at Cal State Long Beach. And they said Ronald Reagan was made of Teflon!

In the years since, Karenga has seen his "holiday" grow to the point where it is universally accepted (even praised by President Bush). The holiday was honored with an official US postage stamp in 1997. Even if it does come off as kooky and phony (even to those who have not researched it), most shrug it off and go through the motions of including it in the pantheon of December holidays, right up there with Christmas and Hanukkah, so as not to seem culturally insensitive. Karenga has toned down the paganistic and anti-Christian aspects of Kwanzaa in the last few decades, in order to attract black Christians to his lucrative celebration. He now says that Kwanzaa is a time for "giving reverence to the Creator," though he will not be more specific about just what he means by "Creator."

In summary, Kwanzaa is a fictitious holiday, created by a paranoid-schizophrenic, violent, ex-convict cult leader. Black Americans, particularly Christians, should re-think celebrating this pagan holiday, which has nothing to do with their culture or heritage, and is instead a celebration of separatism, Marxism, and violence.

Happy Kwanzaa.

Sources:
Barber, La Shawn. "Why Black Christians Shouldn't Celebrate Kwanzaa," The National Center for Public Policy Research, December 2003.
Malkin, Michelle. "Million Moan March: A Closer Look at the Speakers," michellemalkin.com, Oct. 15, 2002.
Mulshine, Paul. "Happy Kwanzaa," Frontpagemagazine.com, Dec. 26, 2002.
Wikipedia.com ("Ron Karenga")

The Official Kwanzaa Website