The Swahili word Imani, faith, repre­sents the Last Day of Kwanzaa. The commit­ment of the last day is to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the right­eous­ness and victory of our struggle.

There have been other years, when life went more smoothly, that this commit­ment could seem to be a little high-​​blown. But in a year when so much has gone wrong, (other than your engage­ment!) It seems that we might be better engaged in paying some atten­tion to not only bigger goals but also to the places that we look for support. What is the struggle? Who are our teachers? What support do our leaders need? Who is our community?

You’re getting married. You’re making a start on some­thing new and wonderful. Take this wedding and make a marriage that you want to live in forever. Cele­brate what’s real and strong between you. Find ways to hold your hopes up to your commu­nity and get their support. Let love be the guide that takes you forward into life. Your commu­nity needs the testa­ment of hope and faith your marriage offers. I’m so excited to see how you all are going to change the world in the year ahead.

Tip: Take a slow meander through the offi­cial Kwanzaa website www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org There you’ll find the answers to your ques­tions and be able to start your study and your cele­bra­tion. Book­mark it, so you’re ready for next year!

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