African American Cultural Center

The African American Cultural Center in Los Angeles is the principal institution of the organization known as "Us," whose founder and chairman, Dr. Maulana Karenga, is the originator of the holiday known as "Kwanzaa." In fact, it was Dr. Karenga, nearly five decades ago, who formulated the Nguzo Saba ("Seven Principles"), which are Kwanzaa's guiding values for strengthening family, community, and culture.

The African American Cultural Center serves as a gathering point for numerous community activities, including meetings, conferences, social gatherings, performances, lectures, and more. Support is provided for community activities, namely the African Marketplace forums, performances, exhibits, reunions, and reaffirmations. Recent events have included "A 'Chicago Steppin' and Soul Line-Dance Fitness Session," an "Afro-Karaoke Kontest," and a lecture entitled "Ida B. Wells:

Troubling and Transforming the Waters."

The center hosts a weekly community roundtable discussion of local, national and international news from an Afrocentric perspective. It also serves as the home of Mshinda Nyofu's Limbiko Tembo Kawaida School of African American Culture. In the fall, an annual Nguzo Saba Conference is held here, too. And an ever-changing calendar of open houses, retreats, Swahili language lessons, and book circles, is scheduled seasonally. The African American Cultural Center is located at 3018 West 48th Street, Los Angeles, California 90043-1335.