Photo: AP/Free Press, Zach Frailey
The Republican National Committee issued a statement marking the start of Kwanzaa on Thursday, offering best wishes to those observing the African heritage holiday at the end of a year in which the party said it needed to prioritize outreach in the black community.
“I want to extend my best wishes to all who are celebrating Kwanzaa,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in the statement. “For families coming together to mark the occasion, I hope it is a joyous time of celebration with loved ones–and a time of meaningful reflection ahead of the New Year.”
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 to “reaffirm and restore” observers’ “rootedness in African culture.” Its founder, Maulana Karenga, was convicted of felony assault charges in 1971 after a member of his black nationalist group, Organization Us, testified that he tortured her and another woman.
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