Kwanzaa goes out with a bang as seven-day celebration nears end

African-American leaders throughout L.A. will present a Kwanzaa event Saturday as the seven-day observance nears an end.

The African American Cultural Center in L.A. (the founding institution of Kwanzaa) is helping to sponsor the event. Its theme: “Lifting Up the Light that Lasts.”

Organizer Chimbuko Tembo said the ceremony recognizes the 45th anniversary of Kwanzaa, a cultural expression that began in Los Angeles.

“And now it is spread around the world," said Tembo. "On every continent in the world they celebrate Kwanzaa [...] We congratulate the African people who saw the value in the holiday, who were attracted to the life-affirming values of the holiday which are called the Nguzo Saba.”

The event at Friendship Auditorium takes place on the sixth day of Kwanzaa known as "Kuumba," the Swahili word for creativity.

The annual “Karamu” (a joyful feast or gathering) will feature African foods, performances and storytelling. It's open to the public.

Other highlights of the evening include the annual Founder’s Kwanzaa Message by Dr. Maulana Karenga and the community Kwanzaa candle-lighting ceremony.

Maulana Karenga, chair of Africana studies at Cal State Long Beach, founded Kwanzaa in 1966. In 1995, he released a statement on the official Kwanzaa website extolling the seven-day celebration as "the light that lasts" and proclaiming that "this ethical and spiritual heritage of ours, must be kept and constantly shared as a rich heritage that rightly belongs to us."