KWANZAA: An African-American Holiday --PLUS-- SOUND SAGES: The Gift of KWANZAA

For African-Americans throughout the United States and for more than 13 million people around the world, the annual Kwanzaa celebration will commence on December 26th 2003.

Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration, created in 1966, by noted activist Maulana Karenga, to give African-Americans their own holiday.

It is a time of joyous celebration through music, song, culture, tradition, and also a time to reflect on what it means to be a strong African-American family.

It is a time of harvesting love and joy in the global village.

Kwanzaa, which means First Fruits of the Harvest in Kiswahili, is simply a time of reaffirming and remembrance of their ancestors and their rich cultural heritage.

The celebration also serves to educate the community-at-large on the seven principles of Kwanzaa, which are:

--Umoja (unity),

--Kujichagulia (self-determination),

--Ujima (collective work and responsibility),

--Ujamaa (cooperative economics),

--Nia (purpose),

--Kuumba (creativity), and

--Imani (Faith).

To enhance, not only the celebration of Kwanzaa, but also the educational and cultural importance of the unique ethnic holiday, which immediately follows Christmas, The American Focus of South Plainfield, New Jersey, a coalition of educators and computer trainers, recently announced the immediate availability of the...

KWANZAA 2003 SERIES.

The two-volume CD/CD-ROM educational set which not only provides an interactive Windows 3.1/95 and 98-compatible computer software program for use by:

--schools,

--youth centers,

--youth chess clubs and other groups,

--churches and

--at home,

but also an audio collection of traditional Kwanzaa music selections with detailed historical narration on a CD which can be played on a home, at the office, in an automobile or on a personal-size portable CD player.

The KWANZAA 2003 SERIES the set is available immediately, just in time for Kwanzaa 2003 and a curriculum for studying Black history.

The first volume, an interactive CD-ROM,

KWANZAA: An African-American Holiday

...includes and fully explains the history of Kwanzaa,

--its seven principles,

--its colors,

--its celebrations and activities,

--the symbols of Kwanzaa,

--creative musical selections ... and much more.

In rich 800 x 600 (dpi) color, the CD-ROM program features:

--the marketplace,

--the unity flag,

--a festive Kwanzaa table display,

--the candle lighting ceremony,

--a Kwanzaa role-play,

--a glossary

...and a host of frequently asked questions and their answers about the celebration of Kwanzaa.

A holiday screensaver is also available for downloading and installation, and a massive help index is available within the program. The program is an excellent choice for both home and school use.

The truly unique and interactive Kwanzaa CD-ROM highlights its pronunciation guide for all the key Swahili words.

Other features include The Marketplace, where several vendors talk about their businesses in the spirit of cooperative economics.

There are seven selections of high-quality Kwanzaa music, which each tune reflecting on one of the principles of Kwanzaa, which can either be played on a computer or independently on a CD home stereo or portable or car CD player.

The question and answer section and glossary allow for even greater understanding of key words and points used.

There are six videos included, one of which is a Kwanzaa play, where two young girls discuss what Kwanzaa really means to them; and another which depicts a candle lighting ceremony which explains the process of using the Kinara properly.

If the children of our nation and our world do represent our future and are to advance as we would like, it is important to give them some means by which they can receive that educational and cultural material and some way to educate them.

Because many adults are not computer literate, the KWANZAA 2003 SERIES seeks to inspire adults to learn to use computers and learn more about themselves and their capabilities.

SOUND SAGES: The Gift of Kwanzaa, serving as volume two of the KWANZAA 2003 SERIES, offers not only traditional music but also voices of soothing narration relating to the history and the rich cultural heritage of this festive celebration.

The Gift of the Spirit, the initial selection, is followed by the narration of The Gift of Kwanzaa, to the background of the Waltz of the African Kings.

Additional musical and narrated selections on the CD include:

--Nguzo Saba,

--Umoja for unity,

--Imani for the echoes of our faith,

--Ujamaa for maintaining our own,

--Tamshi La Tutuonana, which serves as a farewell statement, and

--Tambiko for libation.

Anyone with questions needing answers about the purpose or the meaning of Kwanzaa will find the answers they seek in the KWANZAA 2003 SERIES.

Since Kwanzaa is not a religious celebration, it can be used by classroom teachers in schools offering educational and cultural diversity studies dealing with ethnic traditions, computer training, history, social sciences and music appreciation.

The KWANZAA 2003 SERIES offers both education and enjoyment experiences to enhance learning by young people and adults, in both school settings or at home.

Inquiries relating to the KWANZAA 2003 SERIES may be sent to:

The American Focus
Post Office Box 663
South Plainfield, New Jersey 07080-0663,

or may be e-mailed to amerfocus@aol.com.