Melanin Messages Legacy Centers

# Kwanzaa & Reading Year-Round

### A Community Meet-Up Celebrating Culture, Literacy & Purpose All Year Long

Description:
Join us for Kwanzaa & Reading Year-Round, a joyful and empowering community program dedicated to celebrating African heritage, building literacy, and living the Nguzo Saba — the seven principles of Kwanzaa — every single day.

This meet-up is perfect for families, children, educators, and community members who want to deepen cultural pride, strengthen reading habits, and share meaningful time together.

Each gathering features:
📚 A Read-Aloud Session
– Books written by African-American authors or reflecting African-heritage stories, heroes, and traditions.
– Stories that build confidence, cultural awareness, and emotional resilience.

✨ Kwanzaa Principle of the Week
– Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work & Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
– Short reflections on how we can practice these principles every day.

🎨 Creative Cultural Activities
– Art projects, journaling, small group discussions, and hands-on learning experiences for kids and families.

🎶 Music & Affirmations
– Engaging songs, call-and-response readings, and spoken affirmations that uplift and empower.

🌱 Purpose-Building Moments
– Space for children to explore who they are, what they love, and how they want to shine in the world.

***

### Who This Meet-Up Is For:

✔ Families with children (ages 2–12)
✔ Educators and youth workers
✔ Community members who love reading and culture
✔ Anyone passionate about uplifting African-heritage children

***

### What to Expect:

A warm, welcoming space where children can learn, create, and thrive — and where adults can build community, share wisdom, and contribute to shaping a positive cultural future.

Whether you join us weekly or drop in occasionally, you’ll be part of a supportive circle honoring culture, literacy, and joy all year long.

***

### Come Celebrate!

Let’s read, grow, uplift, and practice the spirit of Kwanzaa — every day of the year.

# “Removing the Masks & Changing Our Narrative — 2026 New Year Healing Series”

# A 100-Day Community Journey to Heal the Heart, Rewrite the Story, and Step Into Our True Selves

Date: January 2026

Format: Weekly in-person or virtual gatherings + daily self-paced healing practices

Who It’s For: Black women, men, non-binary folks, and all people of color ready to unlearn survival patterns and reclaim emotional freedom.

Commitment: Come as you are. Stay as you’re able. Heal at your own pace.

## ABOUT THIS MEETUP

Welcome to Removing the Masks & Changing Our Narrative, a powerful New Year healing journey designed for anyone ready to:

✨ Stop hiding behind emotional survival masks
✨ Release old stories rooted in trauma, shame, or abandonment
✨ Heal the heart through truth, ritual, and gentle community
✨ Rewrite their narrative with intention, compassion, and ancestral
wisdom
✨ Step into 2026 with clarity, confidence, and authenticity

We’ve spent years—some of us, a lifetime—wearing masks:

• the Strong Mask
• the Silent Mask
• the People-Pleasing Mask
• the Perfection Mask
• the Unbothered Mask
• the Warrior Mask…

In 2026, we are laying them down.
Together.
Tenderly.
Honestly.
Boldly.

## WHAT THIS PROGRAM IS

This is a 100-day healing experience built around the concept of emotional “mask removal,” inspired by inner child work, somatic healing, Black emotional survival stories, and community ritual.

You’ll be guided through:
🖤 100 emotional masks we learned to wear to survive
🖤 Daily spoken-word reflections and journal prompts
🖤 Weekly guided meditations & grounding rituals
🖤 Community discussions and storytelling circles
🖤 Tools to rewrite your personal narrative with truth and dignity

Each week explores a new theme:

• Hidden Pain
• Childhood Survival
• Strength as Armor
• People-Pleasing & Performance
• Anger & Emotional Edge
• Guarded Hearts
• Distrust & Detachment
• Worthiness & Identity
• Relational Healing
• Reclaiming Joy
• Stepping Into Your Real Self

## WHAT TO EXPECT AT OUR WEEKLY MEETUPS

Each meetup is a mix of:

✨ Breathwork + grounding
✨ Spoken word from the “Unmasking” script
✨ Teaching on the mask of the week
✨ Journaling + reflection time
✨ Small-group sharing (optional)
✨ A healing ritual or mindfulness practice
✨ Affirmations & empowerment closing circle

You are invited to participate as much or as little as you feel comfortable.
No pressure. No judgment.
Just presence.

## WHO THIS IS FOR

This space is for you if:
✔ You’re tired of performing strength
✔ You’re ready to stop hiding your emotions
✔ You’re healing inner child wounds
✔ You want to practice boundaries, truth, and self-love
✔ You want community instead of isolation
✔ You want 2026 to feel different from previous years

You do not need prior experience with healing work.
Come exactly as you are.

## WHY START THIS IN THE NEW YEAR?

Because 2026 can be the year you:

• Rewrite your narrative
• Take off the masks that suffocated you
• Heal what hurt your heart
• Return to your truth
• Step into your authentic power

This is more than a meetup—
it is a movement, a ritual, a becoming.

## WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING

• A journal
• A pen
• Water or tea
• An open heart
• A willingness to tell the truth to yourself

Everything else will be provided.

## JOIN US

If your spirit is whispering
“It’s time,”
this journey is for you.

Click Join to reserve your space
and begin 2026 with a community committed to
healing, truth, softness, liberation, and new beginnings.

We can’t wait to unmask with you.✨🖤