The Kwanzaa Effect (Nia)

"The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain

Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

What is your purpose? How does your purpose connect with the community at large? Finding out what you are supposed to is one of mysteries of life that many of us struggle with. Living life is hard when you do not know why you are here. It becomes a little easier when you discover why you are here. What about the community though? It is one thing to discover what you are supposed to do; its another to figure out how it is connected to other people. In the Black comic book community, we enjoy fandom and share in the joy of comic book art and stories. Yet, the question in my mind says, "Is this all there is?" Now of course, a hobby can be enriching to you but how can you enrich others. One of things that I love about our community is when people share their books. Many of these books have history and story attached to them. There is nothing like learning about the stories behind the stories you read. What motivates a certain writer or artist to do anything? It is wonderful to learn about an artist's inspiration. Gifting is also a huge part of our community. Sometimes, guys will just give you a book or some memorabilia, it's cool to get comics in the mail from a collector. Personally, I have been blessed by many brothers. The gifts they give inspire me to do what I do. I love to talk about comics. I love learning about comics and while I do have fun with that, I try to extend myself to reach people beyond the scope of the hobby. I tend to check up on guys who are apart of the community just because. I tend to talk about health and issues men have from time to time as well as what I read today. Part of my purpose in the Black comic book community is to serve.

Serving others does not always mean you know everything. Lord knows I don't. Yet, I surround myself with brothers who collect, curate, and articulate the works of artists and writers. Sometimes I just talk and the monologue morphs into something else. I am passionate about this hobby because it is a niche that is so specific. As a Black kid growing up on the southside of Houston, Texas. I remember many days just me and my books. I remember wishing I had someone to talk about what I was reading. The funny and awesome thing about this community is that it is made up of people from a plethora of walks of life. Everyone is different. Like my brother Otis once said, "I found my island of misfit toys". Since we all found our tribe, it is our purpose to grow and learn from each other. We do this in hopes of empowering the next generations to laugh and cry at beautiful stories and jaw dropping art. In my life, I have been blessed to be apart of this community, my purpose in it is to not just read a few comics but to also inspire, encourage, assist, advocate, and most of all learn. My purpose for beyond me, is to give what has been given to me. Love, lessons, and lots of Black comic books, ya heard. -Richard J Wright