Kwanzaa Culinarians

Recipes and Food Stories from the African Diaspora

Tribute Cake by Alaiyo Kiasi-Barnes

Ms. Ginny is My Grandmother

My maternal grandmother, Mrs. Earcie Bodiford Ginwright, a life-long Alabamian, taught me more about African values than my African study and Swahili language classes taught me. I moved from Alabama … Continue reading →

December 19, 2012

Kuumba Motivates Creator of “Tofu Delights”

When Washington, D.C. Chef Jawanza Zulu sees a recipe or watches a food show featuring chicken, beef, pork, duck or desserts, he imagines how the food, its flavors and textures, can … Continue reading →

December 31, 2011 · 1 Comment

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Learn more about Kwanzaa

The word "Kwanzaa" comes from the phrase, "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first-fruits." Kwanzaa's extra "a" evolved as a result of a particular history of the Organization Us. It was clone as an expression of African values in order to inspire the creativity of our children. In the early days of Us, there were seven children who each wanted to represent a letter of Kwanzaa. Since kwanza (first) has only six letters, we added an extra "a" to make it seven, thus creating "Kwanzaa." To learn more about Kwanzaa, visit the Official Kwanzaa Website.