Dr Maulana Karenga is professor and Chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach. An activist intellectual of national and international recognition, he is the Chair of Organization Us and the National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO). Also, he is the creator of the pan-African holiday Kwanzaa and Nguza Saba (The Seven Principles) and the author of numerous books including:
- Selections From The Husia;
- Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt (1984);
- Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (1998);
- The Book of Coming Forth By Day;
- The Ethics of the Declarations of Innocence (1990);
- Million Man March/Day of Mission Statement (1995);
- Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings (1999);
- Kawaida: A communitarian African Philosophy (2002)