DAVENPORT, Iowa — A group of Quad Cities organizations worked together to put together the area's largest Kwanzaa celebration as the year draws to a close.
The event was held by Ebony Expressions, a dinner and book discussions group that focuses on promoting community fellowship and adult literacy in the area, with the help of the QC Empowerment Network and Together Making a Better Community, a Black-owned-and-led community group from Davenport.
The celebration began at 5 p.m. at TMBC's Lincoln Community Center on East 7th Street in Davenport. It featured children's activities, live entertainment, Black art, a Black Business Bazaar, a traditional Kwanzaa feast and a group of seven guest speakers highlighting Kwanzaa's seven core principles.
The event was free and open to the public.
Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday celebrated after Christmas in African-American and Pan-African communities where people gather together to eat, dance and rededicate themselves to seven core principles, known as the Nguzo Saba; Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith).
Originating in the United States, the holiday was created in 1966 by Karenga, a Black Power Movement activist from Maryland, who saw the event as a way for members of various African communities to reconnect, recover and reconstruct aspects of their culture.
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