January 1: Imani (Faith)

Ruby N Lewis
Jan 1
3 min read

January 1: Imani (Faith)

Believing in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle

Imani means faith.

Not blind faith.

Not passive hope.

A traditional Kwanzaa table display featuring a wooden kinara with seven lit candles, set on a patterned cloth, surrounded by symbolic items including corn, fruit, a unity cup, and harvest elements, representing the principles of Kwanzaa. — The seven principles of Kwanzaa remind us that our strength has always lived in unity, purpose, and collective responsibility.

Watch Our Previous Year's Kwanzaa Celebration

It is the kind of faith forged in fire, born in survival, and sustained through centuries of resistance.

For African Americans in the United States, faith has never been optional. It has been necessary.

From the moment our ancestors were stolen from Africa and forced into bondage, faith became the only thing that could not be taken. Families were ripped apart. Languages were stripped. Names were erased. Laws were written to deny our humanity. And still, our people believed in a future they would never see.

They believed while enslaved.

They believed during Reconstruction, even as promises were broken.

They believed through Jim Crow, lynchings, and segregation.

They believed during the Civil Rights Movement, knowing that justice often came with a cost.

They believed even when the system adapted to keep oppression alive under new names.

Our struggle did not end with emancipation.

It did not end with desegregation.

It did not end with the Civil Rights Act.

Our fight is not for equality alone.

It is for equity.

For access.

For safety.

For dignity.

For the right to exist fully without constantly proving our worth.

Our ancestors fought tirelessly so we could stand here today. Many never saw freedom, never saw justice, never saw acknowledgment. Yet they kept going. That is faith.

Imani reminds us that the work is not finished. The fight is ongoing. And the responsibility now rests with us.

Faith is believing in Black children when systems label them problems.

Faith is believing in Black parents navigating structures that were never built to support them.

Faith is believing in Black educators and leaders who keep showing up despite burnout, underfunding, and disrespect.

Faith is believing that our struggle has purpose and that victory, however long it takes, is righteous.

Imani is choosing to believe even when the road is long.

A graphic showing the outline of the United States filled with a blended gradient of the African American flag and the U.S. flag, layered over the back of a $100 bill, with the text “Black History Is American History” centered across the design. — This image merges the African American flag and the U.S. flag into one nation, layered over a $100 bill to confront a hard truth: Black history built America, yet profit is often valued over people. “Black History Is American History” affirms that African American history is not separate from the American story, it is essential to it.

Watch Our Previous Year's Kwanzaa Celebration

How PDDBM Lives Imani

At Please Don’t Die Black Men (PDDBM), faith is not symbolic. It is active.

We believe in our youth before the world tells them who they are supposed to be.

We believe in their creativity, their intelligence, and their right to dream without limitation.

We believe that Black children deserve opportunity, not survival mode.

Through our afterschool programs in fashion design, filmmaking, journalism, modeling, acting, and entrepreneurship, we invest in young people as leaders, not statistics. We give them platforms to speak, create, earn, and be seen. We teach them that their voices matter and their futures are worth fighting for.

Our work is rooted in the belief that when you empower Black youth with skills, confidence, and ownership, you are continuing the legacy our ancestors began.

This is faith in action.

Watch Our Previous Year's Kwanzaa Celebration