Kwanzaa in the Southern Tier

12/29/2012 (Updated 10:44:02 PM)

ENDWELL -- Today marks the fourth day of Kwanzaa. 
Kwanzaa is an African American celebration of seven principles, one on each day starting December 26th. Traditionally, a group of people gather to light a candle and  discuss what the principle of the day means to them.

Communities can dedicate their celebrations and as you can see here, this particular community dedicated their celebration to  the re-election of Barack Obama.

"If we talk about these principles, perhaps it'll be a way for people to stop and think before they hurt each other.  This'll be a way for us to come together and say 'we're united, we're one people, we're about love,'  So it's open to all people," said Brenda Brown, a Kwanzaa community organizer.

She says that contrary to popular belief, Kwanzaa is not a holiday or a religion. Today was the celebration of purpose and tomorrow is the celebration of creativity.

Today was the celebration of purpose and tomorrow is the celebration of creativity.