Today is the first day of Kwanzaa. I like this celebration a lot because it is cultural, family and community orientated. There are the seven principles to revisit and consider each year, since each year their significance and meaning can deepen or vary. Today that principle is unity or Umoja. Our son works for an organization called Umoja, which helps underserved urban youth, so it is a word and concept with which we are quite familiar. Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor in California and founder of Kwanzaa speaks this year about well-being and right-being of and in this world. The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba, in Swahili are focused this year around the message to walk gently, act justly and relate rightly in and for the world. Umoja addresses our desire to maintain a sense of oneness, and togetherness in all of the circles of our lives—in family, friendship, community, the world and the universe. Dr. Karenga urges us to consider principl...
The virtual studio of author and artist Stephanie Rose Bird brings together artistic process and reflection with the literary arts, in a manner that is designed to be instructive and inspirational.