Reimagine We Begins with Reimagine Me: Kwanzaa as a Blueprint for Collective Liberation

Opening statement of the “Reimagine We” Declaration of Engagement:We live in a world built on extraction, not relationship. It was designed to consume people, land, labor, and spirit in the name of profit, power, and dominance. It taught us competition instead of cooperation, hoarding instead of sharing, and alienation instead of belonging. It told us that our worth is measured by productivity; that our humanity is conditional; and that some lives are disposable.

Reimagine We rejects the principles of extraction and embraces the principles of relationship, engagement, and connection. Key principles of healthy relationships include mutual respect, trust, and affection. Additionally, understanding and addressing each other's needs, effective communication, and conflict resolution are essential for building strong connections. We begin this new journey with a focus on hyper-individualism, Kwanzaa, and the fight for collective liberation.

America's Hyper-Individualism. America worships individualism; not health individualism by hyper-individualism. Yet it begs us to consider two questions: Do we recognize that a society built on individualism will eventually devour its own people? What if we were to shift from individualism to collective agency?Kwanzaa was never meant to be just another holiday. It is a warning and a blueprint. It is a systems design manual for liberated people.

Kwanzaa was created in1966 during a time of crisis—not to decorate the moment, but to orient a people.
It was designed to reconnect African American with African values. The name Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase, meaning first fruits, symbolizing harvest, renewal, and responsibility to the community. At its core, Kwanzaa asks a timeless question: What does it mean to be accountable to one another as a people? And that question is just as relevant now as it was in 1966.
Our audience is encouraged to consider these questions: (1) Which Kwanzaa principle do I resonate with most in my life? (2) Which do I need to live more fully in my own life this year? Ask yourself these questions because transformation is not something we join; it is something we become.