As we journey deeper into the principles of Kwanzaa in preparation for Once Upon a Kwanzaa, this week we turned our collective attention to Kujichagulia - self-determination.
We asked:
✨ How are you naming yourselves?
✨ How are you defining your identities, your dreams, your boundaries, your stories?
✨ In what ways are you choosing to show up, despite systems that try to define you otherwise?
And once again, you all spoke with courage and clarity.
From renaming yourselves with intention…
To reclaiming cultural practices, Ancestral languages, practices and gender expressions…
To setting new legacies in motion through dreaming, healing, art, parenting, and protest…
Voices rang out as declarations of freedom, faith, and future.
“Kujichagulia is me learning to say no without guilt.”
“It’s the decision to be soft after generations of survival.”
“It’s choosing a name that reflects who I’ve always been, not just who I was told to be.”
“I define myself through the work of restoring joy.”
Across generations and geographies, Kujichagulia is being practiced in ways that are intimate, everyday, and revolutionary.
Thank you for showing us what self-determination can look and feel like in real time. Thank you for reminding us that liberation begins in how we see and speak of ourselves.
We are proud to hold space for your reflections and to honor the stories you are rewriting with every act of sovereignty and self-love.
Stay with us as we move into the next principle: Ujima – Collective Work and Responsibility.
In Power and Purpose,
✨ Nyasha + Sidney Rose
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