Ngozi Klee, left, Isiah Zemault and Auset Zemault enjoy the 32nd annual Kwanzaa festival in Leimert Park. Kwanzaa, which began Friday, is a weeklong holiday celebrating African heritage. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Dvonte Cottman, 2, admires an African costume worn by Mustafa Taylor at the Leimert Park event marking the beginning of Kwanzaa. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Seven-year-old twins Tylen, left, and Tyler Gill carry the Kwanzaa symbol umoja, or unity, at the Leimert Park celebration. Each day of the weeklong festival underscores a different principle. Umoja is highlighted on the first day. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A 12-year-old named Kwesi practices skateboarding at the Kwanzaa festival in Leimert Park.
“ (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
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A member of a group called Damu Riders, which aims to keep youths out of gangs, makes his Oldsmobile jump into the air during a procession in the Leimert Park Kwanzaa event. In Swahili, damu means blood. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Kaili Keme, 8, left, and her sister, Alexis Keme, also 8, drive a miniature Mustang along Crenshaw Boulevard in the Kwanzaa procession in Leimert Park. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Members of the Real Riders ride their customized bicycles in the Leimert Park procession. The group restores and customizes bikes and tries to interest young people in the work in an effort to keep them off the streets and out of trouble. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
