Ron Karenga (born July 14, 1941), also known as Ron Everett, is an African American author and Marxist political activist. He is best known as the founder of Kwanzaa, a week-long Pan-African celebration observed each year from December 26 to January 1, initiated in California in 1967. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory based on Karl Marxs work on one hand, and the political practice based on Marxist theory on the other hand (namely, parts of the First International during Marxs time, communist parties and later states). ... Kwanzaa (or Kwaanza) is a week-long Pan-African festival primarily honoring African-American heritage. ...

Karenga is sometimes referred to by the title "Maulana," which means "master teacher" in Swahili and Arabic. Maulana is a title of respect, technically reserved for Muslim scholars or Ulema (plural of Aalim) who are knowledgable about Islam and have studied under a scholar or at a religious institution, e. ... Swahili (also called Kiswahili; see Kiswahili for a discussion of the nomenclature) is an agglutinative Bantu language widely spoken in East Africa. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ...

Career

Karenga created the United Slaves organization (US), a Black Nationalist group, in 1965. In 1971 he was convicted of felony assault for torture on two of the group's female members, for which he spent time in prison. (Everett forced the mouth of one of the women open and then poured drain cleaner down her throat. He also burned cigarettes on the bodies of both women.) After his release in 1975, he resumed his academic studies, later becoming chairman of the black studies department at California State University, Long Beach, a position he held from 1989 to 2002. [1] United Slaves, also called the U.S. Organization or Organization Us, is a Black nationalist group in the United States founded by Ron Karenga in 1965. ... Black nationalism is a political and social movement prominent in the 1960s and early 70s among African Americans in the United States. ... For the record label, see Felony Records The term felony is a term used in common law systems for very serious crimes, whereas misdemeanors are considered to be less serious offenses. ... African American studies, or Black studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans. ... California State University, Long Beach (also known as Long Beach State, Cal State Long Beach, CSULB, LBSU or The Beach) is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California in terms of enrollment. ...

He is also known for having co-hosted, in 1984, a conference that gave rise to the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations, and in 1995, he sat on the organizing committee and authored the mission statement of the Million Man March. He is the director of the Kawaida Institute for Pan African Studies[2] and the author of several books, including his Introduction to Black Studies, a comprehensive black/African studies textbook now in its third edition. The Million Man March was a Black march of protest and unity convened by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in Washington, DC on October 16, 1995. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Background and education

Karenga was born on a poultry farm in Parsonsburg, Maryland, the fourteenth child of a Baptist minister. He moved to California in the late 1950s to attend Los Angeles City College, where he became the first African-American president of the student body. He was admitted to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as part of a federal program for students who had dropped out of high school, and received his master's degree in political science and African studies. He was awarded his first PhD in 1976 from United States International University (now known as Alliant International University) for a 170-page dissertation entitled Afro-American Nationalism: Social Strategy and Struggle for Community. Later in his career, in 1994, he was awarded a second PhD, in social ethics, from the University of Southern California (USC), for an 803-page dissertation entitled "Maat, the moral ideal in ancient Egypt: A study in classical African ethics." Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,417 sq mi (32,160 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37°53N to 39°43N  - Longitude 75°4W to 79°33... The LACC location in 1922, when it was the campus of UCLA. Los Angeles City College, known as LACC or simply as City, is a public community college in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. ... The University of California, Los Angeles, generally known as UCLA, is a public university whose main campus is located in the affluent Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. ... Political science is the field of the social sciences concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... An Africanist is a specialist in African affairs, cultures, or languages. ... Alliant International University is an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education formed in July 2001 as a result of a merger between California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and United States International University (USIU), formerly known as California Western University. ... The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly as Southern Cal[1]), located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA, was founded in 1880, making it Californias oldest private research university. ...

Influences of Malcolm X

Karenga was influenced in the creation of his ethos for US by Malcolm X. Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ...

"Malcolm was the major African American thinker that influenced me in terms of nationalism and Pan-Africanism. As you know, towards the end, when Malcolm is expanding his concept of Islam, and of nationalism, he stresses Pan-Africanism in a particular way. And he argues that, and this is where we have the whole idea that cultural revolution and the need for revolution, he argues that we need a cultural revolution, he argues that we must return to Africa culturally and spiritually, even if we can’t go physically. And so that’s a tremendous impact on US. And US saw itself, when we founded it, as the sons and daughters of Malcolm, and as the heirs to his legacy." —Ron Karenga^[1]

U.S. Organization and the Black Panthers

At the beginning of the 1960s, Karenga met Malcolm X and began to embrace Black nationalism. Following the Watts riots in 1965, he interrupted his doctoral studies at UCLA and joined the Black Power movement. During this time, he awarded himself the title "maulana", Swahili for "master teacher." He formed United Slaves, later called the U.S. Organization, an outspoken Black nationalist group that some allege was encouraged by the FBI in order to counter the Black Panthers. Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ... Black nationalism is a political and social movement arising in the 1960s and early 70s mostly among African Americans in the United States. ... Watts is a residential district in southern Los Angeles, California. ... Tommie Smith (gold medal) and John Carlos (bronze medal) famously performed the Black Power salute on the 200 m winners podium at the 1968 Olympics. ... The Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a revolutionary Black nationalist organization in the United States that formed in the late 1960s and grew to national prominence before falling apart due to factional rivalries stirred up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ...

In 1969, the US Organization and the Black Panthers disagreed over who should head the new Afro-American Studies Center at UCLA. According to a Los Angeles Times article, Karenga and his supporters backed one candidate, the Panthers another. The Black Student Union set up a coalition to try to bring peace between the groups, which ended when US members George P. and Larry Joseph Stiner shot dead two members of the Black Panthers, John Jerome Huggins and Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter. The killing was dismissed by UCLA chancellor Charles E. Young as an unrelated incident. [3] The Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a revolutionary Black nationalist organization in the United States that formed in the late 1960s and grew to national prominence before falling apart due to factional rivalries stirred up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ... The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ... Alprentice Bunchy Carter founded the Southern California chapter of the Black Panther Party. ...

Felony conviction and time in prison

In 1971 Karenga, Louis Smith, and Luz Maria Tamayo were convicted of felony assault and false imprisonment for assaulting and torturing two women from the United Slaves, Deborah Jones & Gail Davis, over a two day period. [4] A May 14, 1971 article in the Los Angeles Times described the testimony of one of the women: "Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Ms. Davis's mouth and placed against Ms. Davis's face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said." They also were hit on the heads with toasters.^{[citation needed]} United Slaves, also called the U.S. Organization or Organization Us, is a Black nationalist group in the United States founded by Ron Karenga in 1965. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ...

At Karenga's trial, the question arose as to Karenga's sanity. It is theorized that Karenga may have had a mental breakdown due to the stress of dealing with the violence and murders surrounding his United Slaves (US) organization and the Black Panther Party (BPP). His behavior became bizarre and at his trial a psychiatrist's report stated the following: "This man now represents a picture that can be considered both paranoid and schizophrenic with hallucinations and illusions, inappropriate affect, disorganization, and impaired contact with the environment."^{[citation needed]}

Kawaida, the Nguzo Saba, and Kwanzaa

In 1975, Karenga was released from California State Prison, with his newly adopted views on Marxism, and re-established the US organization under a new structure. One year later, he was awarded his first doctorate. In 1977, he formulated a set of principles called Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. Kwanzaa is an adjunct of Kawaida. Karenga called on African Americans to adopt his secular humanism and reject other practices as mythical (Karenga 1977, pp. 14, 23, 24, 27, 44–5). Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory based on Karl Marxs work on one hand, and the political practice based on Marxist theory on the other hand (namely, parts of the First International during Marxs time, communist parties and later states). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Swahili (also called Kiswahili; see below for derivation) is a Bantu language. ... The word tradition comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ... It has been suggested that reasoning be merged into this article or section. ... Kwanzaa (or Kwaanza) is a week-long Pan-African festival primarily honoring African-American heritage. ... Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as warrants of moral reflection and decision-making. ... // For the Derek Sherinian album, see Mythology (Derek Sherinian album). ...

Central to Karenga's collectivist doctrine are the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Blackness, which are reinforced during the seven days of Kwanzaa:

• Umoja (unity)—To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Kujichagulia (self-determination)—To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (collective work and responsibility)—To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (cooperative economics)—To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (purpose)—To make our collective vocation the building and development of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (creativity)—To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (faith)—To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Films

• In 2005 Karenga made his theatrical debut when he and other Africans academics featured in the multi-award winning film 500 Years Later, directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah.

• USA the Movie - Voice only

500 Years Later (፭፻-ዓመታት በጓላ) is an independent documentary film directed by Owen Alik Shahadah, written by M.K. Asante, Jr. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Books by Maulana Karenga

• Introduction to Black Studies, 2002, 3rd edition, University of Sankore Press, ISBN 0-943412-23-4
• Kwanzaa: Origin, Concepts, Practice, 1977, Kawaida Groundwork Committee
• Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt ISBN 0-415-94753-7

Further Information

• Biography of Dr. Ron "Maulana" Karenga.
• Interview with Dr. Karenga, PBS Public Broadcasting Service and WGBH/Frontline
• The Story of Kwanzaa by Laurence Scholer, The Dartmouth Review, January 15, 2001, a criticism of Karenga and the holiday
• 500 Years Later The Film Site
• IMDB Profile
• The Official Kwanzaa Web site - Dr. Maulana Karenga

Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ...

Footnotes

External links

• The Organization Us