Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition
"A groundbreaking, thorough, and illuminating discourse on Kwanzaa by one of the new leaders in the field.Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition is a vital resource that will enrich and enhance the discipline of African-American Studies. A pioneering work about a deeply important holiday."– M.K. Asante, Jr., director of The Black Candle: A Kwanzaa Celebration "Keith Mayes situates Kwanzaa's invention within the black holiday tradition while demonstrating how embedded it was in the cultural nationalism of Black Power. Those wishing to further their understanding of African American holidays and their place in American culture would do well to read this book."– Ellen M. Litwicki, Professor of History, State University of New York at Fredonia – author ofAmerica’s Public Holidays, 1865-1920 "Kwanzaais an important contribution to our understanding of the Black Power movement, cultural nationalism and the history of Kwanzaa… it is certain to be the leading text surveying the history of Kwanzaa and its place in the history of African American cultural politics."– Scot Brown, author ofFighting for US: Maulana Karenga, the US Organization, and Black Cultural Nationalism"A thorough study, for advanced students and scholars. Recommended."–Choice"Mayesdeftly traces the journey from Kwanzaa’s Black Power roots to its evolution into a multicultural holiday embraced by multinational corporations and mainstream institutions including public schools, museums, and churches. ... The book situates the history of Kwanzaa not only in the history of black protest holidays but also in the larger politics of the American calendar."– Suzanne E. Smith, GEorge Mason University,American Historical Review