Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa Creator and Africana Studies Pioneer, to Retire
Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at CSULB, will retire after a distinguished career spanning more than six decades of scholarship and activism.
An activist-scholar of national and international recognition, Professor Karenga has played a major role in Black intellectual and political culture since the 60s, including, virtually every national African-centered movement: Black Studies; Black Arts; Black Power; Black student ; pan-African solidarity; independent schools; rites of passage; Black liberation theology; Afrocentricity; ancient Egyptian Ma’atian studies; Ifa ethical studies; Black united fronts; reparations, and the Million Man March for which he wrote the Mission Statement.
He is also executive director of the African American Cultural Center and chair of the National Association of Kawaida Organizations. Moreover, he is the creator of the pan-African cultural holiday Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba and author of numerous scholarly articles and books including Introduction to Black Studies; Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture; Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings; and Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics. He is currently writing a major work on Haji Malcolm X titled The Liberation Ethics of Haji Malcolm X: Critical Consciousness, Moral Grounding and Transformative Struggle.
An ethical philosopher, Professor Karenga’s fields of teaching and research within Black Studies are Africana (continental and diasporan)philosophy; ancient Egyptian (Ma’atian) ethics; ancient Yoruba (Ifa) ethics; Black Studies theory, history and pedagogy, African American intellectual history; ethnic studies; multiculturalism; and the socio-ethical thought of Malcolm X.
Dr. Karenga is the recipient of numerous awards for scholarship and activist service from the major Black Studies professional organizations including: the President’s Award for Exemplary Service and Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Black Studies; the Paul Robeson-Zora Neale Hurston Award for Scholarly Work; the C .L .R. James Award for Outstanding Publication; and the National Leadership Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievements in Black Studies, the National Council for Black Studies; the Cheikh Anta Diop Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Best Book of the Year--Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt, Ankh Scientific Institute (ANKH); and the President’s Award for Scholarship and Service in the Development of Black Studies, African Heritage Studies Association.
