The 47th annual Kwanzaa Gwaride – the world’s oldest Kwanzaa parade – was held Tuesday in South Los Angeles.
The parade kicked off at 11 a.m. at Adams and Crenshaw boulevards, then headed south to Leimert Park for a festival with music, food, vendors, and art.
KNX News’ Emily Valdez spoke to Queen Aminah Muhammad, one of the event’s organizers, about the meaning of the seven-day celebration.
“Today is the day that represents unity,” Muhammad said. “So Kwanzaa is just a time for family, culture, history. We celebrate our ancestors and we just celebrate our culture, who we are.”
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Maulana Karenga, chair of Africana Studies at Cal State Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966 in what he called "an audacious act of self-determination." Kwanzaa is based on the theory of Kawaida, which espouses that social revolutionary change for Black America can be achieved by exposing Blacks to their cultural heritage.
The festivities in Leimert Park Village will continue throughout the next week.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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