Dear rasuli,
Thank you for the question. Ron Karenga is an amazing man, with many
accomplishments including two PhDs, government advisor, founder of a
number of major organizations, author of many scholarly works and a
prison sentence. However, I have concentrated on the US organization
that he founded in 1965.
I am unsure how much you know already, apologies if you find any
comments superficial.
The best resources would definitely be the official site:
http://www.us-organization.org/
______
The following are some further views:
“…With US, Karenga was instrumental in building independent schools,
black-studies departments, and black-student unions. Central to
Karenga's efforts was the espousal of cultural nationalism to instill
racial pride and confidence among American blacks.
…A number of factors isolated Karenga within the black-power movement.
While some African Americans did not care for his overpowering manner,
others disagreed with his philosophy for dealing with the problems of
blacks; more extremist blacks spoke out against his dealing with
whites. The cultural nationalists could not bridge the gap between
blacks who wanted to overthrow the system and those who were willing
to promote change through the normal political process.
Karenga's status was eroded considerably after the killing of Black
Panther members John Huggins and Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter by US
gunmen in 1969…
… in 1971 when he was arrested and convicted of assaulting a female US
member. After he was sent to prison to serve time for his offense, the
US organization began to dissolve and was officially ended in 1974..”
(Encyclopedia of World Biography)
_____
Ward Churchill & Jim Vander Wall: Documentation of the FBIs efforts
to escalate differences between the Black Panther Party and US
Organization:
http://www.derechos.net/paulwolf/cointelpro/copap5b.htm
_____
Nurturing News for African American Males:
“…Dr. Karenga and Us have had a profound and far-reaching effect on
Black intellectual and political culture. Through the teaching and
practice of Kawaida, Us emerged in the 60's as a vanguard
organization. Us has played a vanguard role in shaping the Black Arts
Movement, Black Studies, Black Student Union Movement, Afrocentricity,
rites of passage programs, the study of ancient Egyptian culture and
the founding of the Association for the Study of Classical African
Civilizations, the independent school movement, and African life-cycle
ceremonies, the Simba Wachanga youth movement, and Black theological
and ethical discourse. Dr. Karenga and Us have also played a key role
in Black United Front efforts serving on the founding and Executive
committee of the Black Power Conferences of the 60's, the National
Black United Front, the National African American Leadership Summit,
the Black Leadership Retreat and the Million Man March/Day of Absence.
They also created the National Association of Kawaida Organizations
(NAKO) as a cooperative framework for the many organizations who
subscribe to Kawaida philosophy but maintain their own independent
structures.
Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in 1995, Us continues its
activities under the motto,"Anywhere we are, Us is" and with three
baisc focuses of "Struggle, service and institution-building."
http://www.med.jhu.edu/maleandfamilycenter/page4_i2.html
_____
The Africology Spark: The Meaning of Kwanza
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Africology/news/africol3_2002.pdf
“The Kwanzaa holiday remains Karenga's most important legacy to the
black cause. His influence is demonstrated by the fact that by the
1990s Kwanzaa was celebrated by over 18 million blacks in the United
States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa.”
"Maulana Karenga." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols.
Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The
Gale Group. 2002. http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC [Accessed via
my local library]
The Official Kwanzaa Web Site
http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/
Further references:
Brown, Scot D. "THE US ORGANIZATION: AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL
NATIONALISM IN THE ERA OF BLACK POWER, 1965 TO THE 1970S." PhD.
Thesis, Cornell University, 1999.
Search Strategy
US organization OR organization Karenga
”Kawaida Publications”
Please select answer clarification if you would like any further
research.
Regards, |
