Greetings Good People! This year's Kwanzaa Table will feature "tales of the day", e.g. stories and lessons out of the days headlines that help us to remember that the principles of Kwanzaa do not simply honor the past or prepare for the future, but also define the core of how we can embrace and exist today.

IMANI! is the principle of the day - faith. In the context of Kwanzaa the principle of faith refers to faith in people, faith in a person's ability to contribute to the betterment of their community. And with such faith comes awesome responsibility.

So we conclude this year's Kwanzaa Table circling back to where we began with another piece of the story of the recent presidential delegation trip to Angola. The delegation included several African Americans and members of the African diaspora who now have jobs, obligations, and organizations that do the work of building, creating, and sustaining black communities and black history and culture. These descendants of enslaved people or descendants of those who were left behind as their people were taken away from them and enslaved have not only survived, but have (through generations of commitment) risen to great heights in their careers and in their lives - and from these great heights they continue to pull their communities and surrounding communities forward.

So as an example of the principle of Imani in action, I leave you with an article that talks about how this trip renewed fire and faith in the need to teach black history (in America) to and for everyone. I share this article because of a photograph halfway through the story that includes myself and several colleagues laughing over some bit of our conversation while we are seated at the former site of a transatlantic slave trading port, looking across the ocean towards the site of the museum I lead which is also located at the site of a former transatlantic slave trading port. This moment is a stark reminder that though we are indeed stewards of the history that holds the trials, the trauma, and the brutality of slavery and enslavement, we are also the stewards of the joy, the resilience, and the faith that has powered us through. Yes, with faith it all comes full circle. Habari gani!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/26/africa-trip-inspires-protect-black-history-america/76941360007/