“Kawaida argues that all we do must be based on tradition and reason. Thus, Kawaida reflects this rootedness in African tradition — continental and diasporan. Tradition, above all, is a lived, living and transmitted history. It is narrative, the story of a people’s self-formation and at the same time core culture, i.e., thought and practice central to the self-understanding, survival and development of a people. In fact, the viability of a community of people is directly related to their rootedness in their own tradition and their ability to preserve and constantly enrich it.”

-Dr. Maulana Karenga