The Kwanzaa controversy somehow bypassed me, until my African bride forced me to evaluate it. My wife can trace her ancestry directly to Shaka, who reigned over much of sub-Saharan Africa until defeated by the combination of the most powerful European armies at the turn of the last century and tribal leaders who grew disenchanted with the Zulu king. One of these defecting tribal leaders was, in turn, one of my wife's more direct ancestors.