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As the year comes to a close, many Minnesotans are celebrating Kwanzaa, a holiday dedicated to African American culture that runs through New Year's Day. Sunday at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, the holiday kicked off with a day full of free events for the community.

That included a reading of “Jaheem's First Kwanzaa,” a book written by 10-year-old African American author Zephaniah Martin. We recorded his spirited reading for Minnesota Now listeners.

2021 winner of the Youth Writing Competition

 sponsored by Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute. 

When we asked the young scribe about the inspiration for his first book, he said that was a tough question for him to answer because he didn't really have any inspiration — he just did it.

You can find information on other free events happening at the Midtown Global Market this week to celebrate Kwanzaa on the market’s 

, and copies of “Jaheem’s First Kwanzaa” are 

Use the audio player above to listen to the full story.

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Sunday at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, Kwanzaa kicked off with a day full of free events, including a reading of “Jaheem's First Kwanzaa” by 10-year-old African American author Zephaniah Martin. We recorded the young writer’s spirited reading for Minnesota Now listeners.

Sunday at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, Kwanzaa kicked off with a day full of free events, including a reading of “Jaheem's First Kwanzaa” by 10-year-old African-American author Zephaniah Martin. We recorded the young writer’s spirited reading for Minnesota Now listeners.

A 10-year-old author reads his book 'Jaheem's First Kwanzaa'

A young person sits while holding a book.

A 10-year-old author reads his book 'Jaheem's First Kwanzaa'

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