Kwanzaa: For Peace and Good-Will Beyond the Holidays

by Ernie McCray

So much is said of Peace and Good-Will
during this time of year
and wouldn’t it be wonderful
if we adhered
to such
in our
everyday lives?

Like so many Black folks do
during Kwanzaa
which is celebrated
for seven days,
beginning the
day after Christmas
through the first day
of the new year,
dedicated to
people getting along
with friendly helpful attitudes
aka “peace and good-will,”
if you will,
following principles
given birth
to reaffirm and restore
African heritage and culture,
a value system
that’s been in existence
for eons upon eons,
one devoted to encouraging
Black folks to act as who they are:
Children of Africa,
people who, according to
historians,
are inventors of civilizations,
the first to break from the animal world
and speak the first human truths,
recipients of a long memory,
a long cultural biography…
leaving a people to carry on
as seekers of unity in their homes
and neighborhoods
and in their country
and in their race,
as self-determined human beings
who know who they are
and what they should be about,
working together to solve problems
that rise in their community,
in support of each other,
building on a rich history
of accomplishment,
resorting to restoring
their traditional greatness,
using their talents
to make the world sing
and dance
and love each other,
modeling for future generations
a worthwhile way of living
for any culture,
believing deeply within themselves
that their struggles
for equality and dignity
will end in victory.

Such are contributions
to concepts like peace and good-will
that can be maintained
beyond the holidays.