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Maulana Karenga

1941–

United States

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Biography

Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga (born Ronald McKinley Everett, July 14, 1941), previously known as Ron Karenga, is an American activist, author and professor of Africana studies, best known as the creator of the pan-African and African-American holiday of Kwanzaa. Born in Parsonsburg, Maryland, to an African-American family, Karenga studied at Los Angeles City College and the University of California, Los Angeles. He was active in the Black Power movement of the 1960s, joining the Congress of Racial Equality and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

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Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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