Flossmoor School District 161 Superintendent Dana Smith said he was honored to light the first candle on the kinara in Flossmoor Park on Tuesday, Dec. 26, in part because the theme of the first night, umoja, or unity, is a value the district focuses on promoting with students.
“We spend a lot of time on that in the school district,” he said. “We’re all connected.”
Stephanie Wright, who splits her time between District 161 and the Village of Flossmoor, where she is the community engagement manager, introduced Smith and included a note about the traditional Kwanzaa greeting.
“A traditional greeting is ‘habari gani,’ which means ‘What’s the word?’ or ‘What’s the news?’ You would respond with the principal of the day, which today is umoja, which means unity,” she said.
Before lighting the umoja candle, Smith made a few remarks about the significance of celebrating unity.
“I was really honored when Stephanie asked me about this opportunity, particularly because of the word umoja and the connection to unity, the value that we place on coming together in our community, whether it’s sharing communication and resources with the high school or the village or the district,” he said. “One of the strengths that makes Flossmoor very special is the fact that we will come together to support each other to work as a community to make great opportunities for human beings and really value each other.”
Flossmoor’s Kwanzaa celebration continue for six more nights, concluding on Jan. 1.