Kwanzaa has powerful past

Behind Kwanzaa?s powerful message is an even greater story of how the founder of Kwanzaa, Maryland native Ronald McKinley Everett, known as Dr. Maulana Karenga, overcame his ugly past, including convictions of felony assault and false imprisonment.

Since serving prison time, Karenga has flourished as an activist, author and Black Studies professor at California State University, Long Beach. He?s united millions of blacks around the world, who gather for Kwanzaa, which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a common African language.