President Donald Trump released a statement Tuesday celebrating the African American holiday of Kwanzaa.

“Today marks the first day of Kwanzaa, a weeklong celebration of African American heritage and culture. Together, let us celebrate during this joyous time the richness of the past and look with hope toward a brighter future,” the statement reads, adding “as families and friends join to light the Kinara, Melania and I extend our warmest wishes for a joyful holiday season and a prosperous year to come.”

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga, whose a storied criminal and mental history was recently chronicled by The Daily Caller’s Eric Owens. The holiday is marked by 7 days of candle lighting to celebrate the 7 principles of the holiday, which CNN notes are “unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba) and faith (imani).”

Owen’s notes that Kwanzaa’s seven principles “are identical to the seven principles of the infamous Symbionese Liberation Army, the murderous, bank-robbing gang of revolutionary terrorists who kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in 1974.”

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