Tynya celebrated her first Kwanzaa over 30 years ago. She is known in the community as the Kwanzaa Queen as she is everything Kwanzaa. She believes Kwanzaa is more than the gifts and the feasts, it is a rite of passage. By practicing Kwanzaa 354 days a year, the ideas and concepts, she shares that her life has been enriched with a sense of purpose, togetherness, and pride never experienced before. She lives by these principles and integrates them into her life 365 days a year. We celebrate Kwanzaa once a year. However, Tynya believes we can live our daily lives 365 days a year by the principles or the Nguzo Saba. The Principles include Unity, Purpose, Faith, Creativity, Self-Determination, Collective works, and Cooperative Economics. She wrote the book to answers basic questions about Kwanzaa. Such as: What is Kwanzaa? What do the symbols mean? How do I pronounce the principles? What does a Kwanzaa celebration look like? She answers all these questions in the book and so much more. Her goal is to teach the Principles for the purpose of uplifting hearts and minds to embody their magnificence.

Kwanzaa is a seven-day African American cultural celebration that includes honoring ancestors, acknowledging our elders, and uplifting our children. Kwanzaa was founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 and is celebrated from December 26 – January 1.