A Mind Building Kwanzaa Presentation of Gin-Go & Kitunda

This past Saturday, December 14th, I was invited to speak to the Folk Culture Program members at Mind Builders in the Bronx, New York. Mind Builders is a fantastic school servicing kids and young adults up to grade 12. It was a privilege to talk about the game design and conceptualization process of our games, Gin-Go and Kitunda, and how they were played.

Showing students and family how to play the board game Kitunda at the Mind Builders Kwanzaa Celebration in the Bronx, December 2024.

The room was filled with young people and adults willing to learn how the games were played. The talk was a part of their Kwanzaa celebration presentation focused on the Kwanzaa principle of Kuumba - Creativity. 

If I am correct, I believe one of the purposes of the Folk Culture Program is to document community elders' oral traditions or personal histories via video recording. The young adults were learning to film and document my story. It was a pleasure to see their involvement in the process.

I always have an aftertaste about any interview I participate in, and it all comes in the form of questions that pepper my taste buds. Did I say everything I wanted or needed to say? What points did I leave out? Where should I have placed my interests?

While I probably did drop the ball a few times, the folks were kind and made me feel comfortable in their presence. I have always enjoyed being in the company of positive youth. I am always glad to see them doing something productive.

We left them with a Gin-Go and Kitunda game. Hopefully, some will become comfortable enough playing them that they will be inspired to try their hand at board game designing.

After my presentation, some of them got a first-hand introduction to Gin-Go and Kitunda. We also brought along a Kinara I designed for Kwanzaa in the 1980s, where I explained the meaning of its design. I explained to them why it was more important for me to create a Kinara with a circular design or energy than the current linear design expressed in most Kinaras. I may go back in January to talk more about my Kinara design.

A custom Kinara designed by Amurá in the 1980s, showcased at the Mind Builders Kwanzaa Celebration.

Afterward, the students performed a beautiful Kwanzaa festival presentation in Mind Builders’ auditorium in music, drumming, dance, singing, and spoken word. We were very impressed.