|
Books by Maulana Karenga
Introduction to Black Studies /
Selections from Husia: Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt
/
The Book of Coming Forth by Day
Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture
/
Million Man March: Day of Absence
Handbook of Black Studies /
Maat, the Moral Idea in Ancient Egypt /
Kemet and the African Worldview
Kawaida Theory: An African Communitarian Philosophy
* * * *
*
Justice
for the Poor
By Dr. Maulana Karenga
Founder of Kwanzaa
ETHICS OF A LIVING WAGE
One of the most important struggles for social and economic justice of our
times is the expanding and ongoing struggle for a living wage. The struggle is
essentially directed towards securing for low-income workers a wage which
provides for them with adequate means to support themselves and their families,
rise above the poverty level which entraps them and live a life of dignity and
decency due every human being. But the implications of this struggle for us as
moral and religious persons and for society are profound and far-reaching, for
it speaks to some of the most cherished moral concepts and concerns in all our
faith traditions.
RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
The struggle for a living wage speaks first to the central moral principle of
respect for the dignity of the human person. We take seriously the sacredness of
the human person and reaffirm the fundamental moral conviction that humans are
in the image of God and thus are possessors of a dignity, an inherent worthiness
which is inalienable and inviolable. Within this moral understanding we, of
necessity, link the right to a life of dignity with the right to a life of
decency, a life in which persons have for themselves and their families adequate
food, clothing, housing, education, health care and physical and economic
security and thus are able to live a good and meaningful life. And the living
wage is an indispensable way to achieve these social and human goods.
RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF WORK
Secondly, the struggle for a living wage speaks to the fundamental moral
principle of the dignity of work. In our ethical traditions, the worthiness of
work is grounded in its being both a reflection of the Divine act of creation
and a process by which we engage in co-creation, practice responsible
stewardship and realize the essential meaning and mission of human life to
constantly bring good into the world. Thus, we reaffirm the right and
responsibility to engage in purposeful and productive work as far as one is
able, as essential to a person's dignity, self-respect and sense of purpose and
worthiness in the world. And we maintain that workers have a right to just
treatment on the job and in separation and this includes a just wage, adequate
benefits, satisfactory working conditions, economic security and the right to
organize, engage in collective action and participate in all decisions that
affect them.
CARE AND SUPPORT FOR THE POOR AND VULNERABLE
Thirdly, the struggle for a living wage highlights and upholds the essential
principle of moral obligation to care for and support the poor and most
vulnerable among us in their struggle to empower themselves and live full and
meaningful lives. In fact, the heart of the living wage struggle is to improve
the lives and life-chances of the poor and low-income workers and to contribute
meaningfully, not only to the easing of their poverty, but also to the ultimate
elimination of it. Moreover, this struggle reminds us of a fundamental teaching
in our faith traditions that a key moral measurement of any society or economy
is the quality of life and treatment of the vulnerable and poor. Thus, in a
larger sense, this struggle speaks to our conception of and commitment to a
truly just and good society.
IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE
Fourthly, the struggle for a living wage calls for our reaffirmation of the
foundational moral principle of justice in and for the world. For just as
dignity is the central moral pillar in our conception of the human person's
worthiness in the world, justice is an indispensable way in which we demonstrate
due respect for this inherent and inalienable worthiness. Whether we talk of
economic justice or the larger more inclusive concept and practice of social
justice, the principle speaks to the moral obligation to give a person what is
due, deserved, fair and rightful, whether in the general sphere of life or in
the specific context of work.
In conclusion, the struggle for a living wage has become a mirror and measure
of our commitment to some of our most cherished moral principles which undergird
and make possible our conception and realization of the just and good society.
We are thus morally compelled to commit ourselves as religious and moral persons
to active and ongoing support of workers and the labor movement and to engage
fellow members of our churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and others in doing
likewise. This means making common cause with working people and the unions
which represent them, lending added moral authority to their just claims,
standing and walking with them and collaborating with them in joint activities
to secure economic justice at the work site, and in legislative, administrative
and management venues. It also means that we constantly join together with
working people and the labor movement on common ground in other struggles to
build the moral communities, just society and better world we all deserve and
want to live in.
Prepared by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Seba,
Temple of Kawaida,
Member, Advisory Committee, CLUE
Seminar in Social Theory and Practice XXII /
Kawaida Institute of Pan-African Studies
July 17-24, 1999
By Dr. Maulana Karenga
* * * *
*
Promoting Cooperative
Economics Education and Practice through Kwanzaa—Ajamu Nangwaya—24
December 2011— We have the chance to move from a celebratory
approach to Kwanzaa as a holiday to one that integrates its
essence, values or principles in organizing the economic
development of the community. Ujamaa or cooperative economics is
usually advanced by some celebrants of Kwanzaa as the way to
African American economic empowerment. However, it is our
contention that the ideas behind this principle are little
understood by those promoting it.
For many Kwanzaa
practitioners, it is the mere buying of goods and services from
African American-owned companies. This practice does not speak
to the ownership and governance structures of the enterprises
that are patronized. Wealth from economic production is a
collective endeavor, as it is virtually impossible for the
individual to create it single-handedly. Under the dominant
economic system of the day, the people (the workers) who create
wealth are generally not the ones who own and enjoy the use of
it. Furthermore, the popular perception of the Ujamaa principle
does not have a dialogue with the notion of “shared social
wealth”, and the economic model that would best manifest this
idea and practice.
We believe it is time for
African Americans and all those who want a better economic life
in this country to promote the knowledge of cooperatives as
organizational models and tools for economic and social
development. Cooperative education is a necessary, but not a
sufficient condition for its adoption by the community. It must
be put on display and experienced, as a practical way to meet
the material and self-actualizing needs of the people. In order
to disseminate the information about cooperatives, we should
utilize the public forums that are used to celebrate the holiday
as educational instruments. We may use each principle to
highlight particular and relevant aspects of the structure and
operation of cooperatives. In the community organizing phase of
our educational effort we should experiment with different
spaces (living room meetings, public meetings, street corner,
places of worship, etc.) to reach the people.—MediaCoop
* * * *
*
Karenga
on Malcolm Justice for the Poor
Kwanzaa 2004
Kwanzaa Message 2006
The 10 Best Black
Books of 2010 (Non-Fiction)
Gramsci"s Black Marx
Whither the Slave in Civil Society?
* * *
* *
*
* * * *
 |
Blacks in Hispanic Literature: Critical Essays
Edited by
Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Blacks in Hispanic Literature is a
collection of fourteen essays by scholars and
creative writers from Africa and the Americas.
Called one of two significant critical works on
Afro-Hispanic literature to appear in the late
1970s, it includes the pioneering studies of
Carter G. Woodson and
Valaurez B. Spratlin, published in the 1930s, as
well as the essays of scholars whose interpretations
were shaped by the Black aesthetic. The early
essays, primarily of the Black-as-subject in Spanish
medieval and Golden Age literature, provide an
historical context for understanding 20th-century
creative works by African-descended, Hispanophone
writers, such as Cuban
Nicolás Guillén and Ecuadorean poet, novelist,
and scholar
Adalberto Ortiz, whose essay analyzes the
significance of Negritude in Latin America. This
collaborative text set the tone for later
conferences in which writers and scholars worked
together to promote, disseminate, and critique the
literature of Spanish-speaking people of African
descent. . . .
Cited by a
literary critic in 2004 as "the seminal study in the
field of Afro-Hispanic Literature . . . on which
most scholars in the field 'cut their teeth'."
|
|
Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered
the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It
By H. W. Brands
In Greenback Planet, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands charts the dollar's astonishing rise to become the world's principal currency. Telling the story with the verve of a novelist, he recounts key episodes in U.S. monetary history, from the Civil War debate over fiat money (greenbacks) to the recent worldwide financial crisis. Brands explores the dollar's changing relations to gold and silver and to other currencies and cogently explains how America's economic might made the dollar the fundamental standard of value in world finance. He vividly describes the 1869 Black Friday attempt to corner the gold market, banker J. P. Morgan's bailout of the U.S. treasury, the creation of the Federal Reserve, and President Franklin Roosevelt's handling of the bank panic of 1933. Brands shows how lessons learned (and not learned) in the Great Depression have influenced subsequent U.S. monetary policy, and how the dollar's dominance helped transform economies in countries ranging from Germany and Japan after World War II to Russia and China today. He concludes with a sobering dissection of the 2008 world financial debacle, which exposed the power--and the enormous risks--of the dollar's worldwide reign. The Economy |
 |
* *
* * *
 |
Maulana Karenga: An Intellectual Portrait
By Molefi Kete Asante
In this book, the most prolific contemporary African American scholar and cultural theorist Molefi Kete Asante leads the reader on an informative journey through the mind of Maulana Karenga, one of the key cultural thinkers of our time. Not only is Karenga the creator of Kwanzaa, an extensive and widespread celebratory holiday based on his philosophy of Kawaida, he is an activist-scholar committed to a "dignity-affirming" life for all human beings. Asante examines the sources of Karenga's intellectual preoccupations and demonstrates that Karenga's concerns with the liberation narratives and mythic realities of African people are rooted in the best interests of a collective humanity. The book shows Karenga to be an intellectual giant willing to practice his theories in order to manifest his intense emotional attachment to culture, truth, and justice. Asante's enlightening presentation and riveting critique of Karenga's works reveal a compelling account of a thinker whose contributions extend far beyond the Academy. Although Karenga began his career as a student activist, a civil rights leader, a Pan Africanist, and a culturalist, he ultimately succeeds in turning his fierce commitment to truth toward dissecting political, social, and ethical issues. Asante carefully analyzes Karenga's important works on Black Studies, but also his earlier works on culture and his later works on ethics, such as The Husia, and Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings.
|
* *
* * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* * * * *
* *
* * *
update 23 June 2008
|
