Brother Rumas wasn't just asking if they could feel the insistent rhythm of the drumming behind him. He was asking if they could feel the meaning behind Kwanzaa, the seven-day celebration of African-American culture that had just begun.
Created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African-American activist and professor, an emphasis on cultural pride, community-building, and individual responsibility at the heart of Kwanzaa was reiterated and explained for a racially diverse crowd at the library in Nubian Square.
Musicians filled the room with sound. Some people sang, and others read poetry aloud. The celebration even featured a fashion show in which young models strolled through the space. The focus of the event, however, centered on the "Nguzo Saba," or seven principles, that are embedded in Kwanzaa.
"In order for us to continue to move forward with this idea of a unified world and community, we need to start living by some of the principles that guide us," said Safiya Sanyika, who coordinated the free event. "Each person can make a difference."
Those principles, one for each successive day of the celebration, are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
"It is not a religious holiday. It is a cultural holiday. It means you can celebrate it and not give up Christmas," Sanyika said. "And its principles can translate to any and all cultures."
The second day of the celebration, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Roxbury library, will focus on the concept and power of self-determination.
"How does that translate into our homes and into our communities?" Sanyika said. "It's more about a conscious thought process about how we can live our lives."
Daneke Beaumont, 33, of North Attleborough, said her mother encouraged her to attend the celebration, and they sat side by side with Beaumont's sister.
"I'm here to educate myself. I know people who celebrate it, so I'm here to learn," Beaumont said. "As I get older, this is something that I want to strengthen."
Ganique Flowers, a jewelry vendor at the festivities, also contributed to the program by reciting two poems she had written. One, titled "I Am," spoke to her recognition of the core, internal strength she possesses.
"I am strong for still believing in love," she read. "I am strong because this is my hour," and "I am strong because my ancestors are strong."
Earlier, standing against a wall, Flowers called out the name of Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture, who fought against Napoleon's troops, when Brother Rumas asked the audience for names of the deceased to be honored.
"It's about giving reverence and holy names to people you love," Brother Rumas said of the ritual, called a libation, in which water was poured onto a small plant after each name was called.
Sanyika's newly married son and daughter-in-law, Roy'al and Yemi, helped make the opening of Kwanzaa a family affair.
"I didn't grow up celebrating Kwanzaa," said Yemi, 28. "But now, the thing I think about the most at this time is family and community."
For Roy'al, who used to organize an end-of-semester Kwanzaa celebration among fellow students at Boston University, the holiday continues to carry meaning and relevance.
"It's a yearly reevaluation about how to give back to the community around me," Roy'al said. "And it reminds me that I'm part of a collective."