Of course blacks, honest and dishonest, can celebrate Ground Hog Day if they choose; however, they should know what they are celebrating. Ron Everett, the founder of Kwanzaa, has conned academia, the media, a small segment of Americans and a substantial number of blacks. Ron was born in Parsonsburg, Maryland, the fourteenth child in the family. His father was a tenant farmer and Baptist minister. Everett moved to Los Angeles in 1959, joining his older brother who was a teacher there.

During this period he took the name Karenga (Swahili for “keeper of tradition”) and the title Maulana (Swahili-Arabic for “master teacher”). It seems humility is not one of the principles of Kwanzaa’s founder.

Following the Watts Riots in 1965, Karenga (Ron Everett) organized US, or United Slaves, that meant “US black people” and he gave credit to Malcolm X’s Afro-American Unity program as an influence for his group’s existence. Their silly motto is “Anywhere we are, Us is.”

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said that it was meant to be an “oppositional alternative” to Christmas (gift giving) and Judaism (using a seven branch candle-holder that evokes Judaism’s menorah); however, as it became more popular it has morphed into a special day for non-thinking blacks. The holiday begins Dec. 26 until Jan. 1 and the celebrations often include songs and dances, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large meal. On each of the seven nights, the family gathers and a child lights one of the candles on a candle holder, followed by discussion of one of the seven principles.

At first blush this may seem to be a useful tool in strengthening black families, but it is a racist, bigoted, make-believe holiday founded by a deranged white-hater. In his 30-page booklet The Quotable Karenga, Karenga wrote “The sevenfold path of blackness is think black, talk black, act black, create black, buy black, vote black, and live black.” Wonder what would happen if I suggested the same thing but changed the word black to white?

Karenga admitted in a Washington Post interview in 1978, “People think it’s African, but it’s not. I came up with Kwanzaa because black people in this country wouldn’t celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I know that’s when a lot of bloods would be partying.” Bloods is a 1960’s California slang term for black people but is now a gang term.

As racial disturbances spread across the country in the late 1960s, Karenga appeared at a series of black power conferences, joining other groups in urging the establishment of a separate political structure for blacks. His United Slaves became a target of the FBI and was put on a series of lists describing it as dangerous, revolutionary, and committed to armed struggle in the Black Power Movement.

United Slaves engaged in violent competition with the Black Panther Party in their claim to be the voice of black revolutionary movement. This conflict for leadership position with blacks eventually led to a shootout at UCLA in 1969. During that confrontation, two Panthers were killed and a member of their youth group (Simba, meaning young lions) was shot in the back. Following the UCLA shootout, two more Panthers were murdered when Panthers and US members came in conflict with each other.

It is interesting that Karenga lists his many awards in his official biography (where none of his criminal activities are mentioned) but he does mention an Outstanding Humanitarian Award; however, I doubt that the two women who were stripped naked and had a hot soldering iron used on them would agree that he qualified as “humanitarian.” (Details in next column.)

In 1975, Karenga dropped his cultural nationalist views and converted to Marxism.

It seems people in academia, the media, and general public developed selective amnesia and the convicted felon became a celebrated Black leader.

To further substantiate Karenga’s radical racial agenda, he delivered a eulogy at the 2001 funeral service of New Black Panther Party leader Khalid Abdul Muhammad, praising him for his organizing activities and commitment to black empowerment. In 1993 Khalid gave a speech at Kean College in Union Township, New Jersey, in which Muhammad referred to Jews as bloodsuckers; labeled the pope a “no-good cracker”; and advocated the murder of any and all white South Africans who would not leave the nation subsequent to a warning period of 24 hours. Such is the dude that Karenga eulogized but then they were “cut out of the same cloth.”

Ron Everett, a.k.a. Maulana Karenga, is a black bigot, hater of whites, and convicted felon. Along the way he managed to flimflam enough people to garner some unmerited respectability. However, to me he is of the same ilk as Louis Farrakhan, and I don’t like haters no matter their color or race.

None of my informed black friends will be celebrating Kwanzaa.

(Boys’ new book, The God Haters, was recently published by Barbwire Books. To get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available. Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives and wrote for USA Today for eight years.) Visit his blog here.