(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Malcolm X College on Tuesday celebrated the second day of Kwanzaa, the week-long holiday that honors Black history and culture.
Kwanzaa committee chairwoman Barbara Meschino helped organize the college’s activities.
"Kwanzaa is celebrating the seven principles," she said. "There are seven principles. And Kujichagulia is the one we are celebrating today."
Kujichagulia means self-determination. The other six principles are Umoja (Unity), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). Each principle is recognized on a different day of Kwanzaa.
Shahara Williams is celebrating Kwanzaa for the first time, and she says it’s a learning opportunity.
Others have been celebrating Kwanzaa since childhood, like Maanami Phillips, who's a vendor at the celebration for the first time.
"Kwanzaa is something that I have been celebrating all my life, so it's just always been a part of me, my culture, how I grew up, how we were raised," Phillips said.
For Obari Cartman, Kwanzaa has played a big role in self-identity.
"Just having a cultural understanding of who I am has shaped my identity, my work," Cartman said. "I think it's protective to be in a world when there's so many messages against Africa and Blackness to always be prideful and to feel good about who we were, where we came from."
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