Once again Detroit will celebrate Black culture with the lighting of a giant Kwanzaa kinara downtown, believed to be the largest in the world.
For the third year in a row, the 30-foot-tall monument will join the massive Christmas tree and giant Hanukkah menorah in Campus Martius Park.
The city will celebrate the beginning of Kwanzaa with a lighting ceremony starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, where city historian Jamon Jordan will deliver a keynote address.
The event is free and open to the public.
Kwanzaa is celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.
Detroit’s giant Kwanzaa kinara debuted in 2022 after City Councilman Scott Benson reached out to local business leaders to discuss the idea of building it in one of the largest Black-majority cities in the U.S.
The holiday is celebrated by lighting each of the seven candles of the kinara, which each represent the Nguzo Saba, or the principles of African heritage. The first candle is umoja, or unity.
“Everyone is welcome to embrace Kwanzaa’s principles,” the city announced in a press release, adding, “The Kinara’s candles are designed to light each day until the full Kinara is lit, representing the acknowledgement and activation of all principles for the coming year.”
