In his 1988 book on Kwanzaa, The African American Holiday of Kwanzaa he says the following about self-determination:
"It demands that African people define, defend and develop ourselves instead of allowing or encouraging others to do this. …And it is a call torecover and speak our own special truth to the world and raise images above the earth that reflect our capacity for human greatness and progress."
How do others understand Kujichagulia? From the Tolerance.org website there are a few examples of what this second principle means to people.
"The principle of Kujichagulia reaffirms our need to always know ourselves in our uniqueness and specialness as persons and as a people. Itteaches us to always honor the divine in us by defining ourselves, speaking our own special cultural truth in the world and making our own unique contribution to the forward flow of human history, Karenga says.
Kujichagulia emphasizes the importance of the individual in shapinghis/her own destiny."
"Many African American families elect to choose African names for themselves as a way of paying homage to their ancestors who were stripped of their own names years ago. As William Wells Brown reminds us: "A new master might often change a slave's name and this indicated that the slave had absolutely no rights."
More thoughts on Kujichagulia later. I was going to do some major writing on this principle, but the week is catching up to me.
Feel free to comment on this even if it’s not completed.
