KWANZAA: Rediscovering our African Culture
Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, his family and Friends. Dr. Karenga, a professor of African-American History at CSU, Long Beach, was effected by the Watts Riots of the summer of 1965. He felt that African-Americans had lost touch with their African heritage. He began to study ways that they could help themselves and each other. Dr. Karenga wanted to unify his people and instill a pride in their joint culture. He felt that there should be a special time of the year set aside to reflect upon and reaffirm the black community. He studied the harvest and "first fruit" celebrations on many African tribes, and although they all celebrated differently there were similarities in many ways. These similarities are some of what Dr. Karenga incorporated into the celebration of Kwanzaa. Even the name for this celebration was taken from Swahili, which is a nontribal language spoken in many parts of Africa. Kwanza in Swahili (AKA Kiswahili) means "the first" or "the first fruits of the harvest". Dr. Karenga added the final "a" to distinguish the holiday from the Swahili word.
Kwanzaa is not a religious, political or heroic celebration rather a cultural one. It begins the day after Christmas and runs until January 1st. At the time of it's inception, Blacks were beginning to question the American culture around them and how they were reflected in it. One of the most glaring and incongruous reflections was in the Christmas holiday season. The mass commercialism of the season placed a hardship on poorer Americans, of which Blacks were a high percentage. Also all the trappings of the Christmas season reflected the dominant society, i.e. no Black Barbie dolls, few black or ...
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...r the future through a new (or renewed) since of community and unity. Dr. Karenga set up a tradition that is based on the heritage of our ancestral cultures and with the ability to shape our own futures, prosperity and traditions in the contemporary times. We don't need "Happy Kwanzaa" cards from Hallmark or any of the other trappings recently showing up in stores beside the Christmas decorations. Kwanzaa is self-sufficient within the community and non-commercial.
Harambee! (Let's pull together!)
Bibliography
McClester, Cedric. Kwanzaa Everything You Always Wanted To Know But Didn't Know Where To Ask. New York: Gumbs & Thomas, 1994
Medearis, Angela Shelf. The Seven Days Of Kwanzaa; How to celebrate Them. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1994
Riley, Dorothy Winbush. The Complete Kwanzaa; Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest. New York: HarperPerennial, 1996
Going on to read more I came along to this quote “While emancipation celebrations played an important role for many black communities, white Americans never fully embraced the tradition, and African American att...
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