In 1968, America was in the middle of two “insurgencies” of sorts. One was the fighting in Vietnam, which had just entered its third year, and the growing discomfort at home with the progress of the war. The other involved the increased efforts to achieve racial and ethnic equality in America, which was exploding into violence with the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Against this backdrop, the music and art scene was undergoing a revolution of its own, particularly with the growing popularity of soul music and the emergence of hip-hop’s foundations. Ron Karenga, an African American scholar and publisher of US Magazine, tried to shift the focus from Black nationalism toward a unique African cultural identity for African Americans, particularly in art and music. Karenga also created the holiday of Kwanzaa in 1966 to break away from the traditional holiday practices of a “white dominant society” and instead foster a sense of unity in the Black community.