Thursday, December 10, 1998
Celebration of Kwanzaa promotes cultural unity
HOLIDAY: Festivities encourage return to African roots,
values
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Contributor
This winter, the menorah and Christmas tree will have to make
way for another holiday symbol – the kinara.
Representing the continental ancestry of African Americans, the
kinara (Swahili for "candleholder") is one of the seven basic
symbols used in the celebration of Kwanzaa, a cultural African
American holiday.
While most people consider Christmas and Hanukkah as the main
year-end celebrations, Kwanzaa has become a formidable contender as
another influential cultural festivity. More than 30 years after
its grassroots inception in 1966, Kwanzaa is now celebrated by up
to 28 million people worldwide.
Maulana Karenga, an author, professor and scholar-activist,
created Kwanzaa during the height of the Black Liberation Movement.
Karenga, who received his master’s degree in political science from
UCLA, is currently the director of the African American Cultural
Center in Los Angeles and founder and chair of the Organization US,
a social and cultural change group.
Itibari Zulu, librarian at the Center for African American
Studies, believes Kwanzaa came at an ideal time, especially since
people were dealing with the civil rights struggle, particularly
the Watts Rebellion in Los Angeles, and needed something more
inspirational in their lives.
"There was a lot of negative activity during that time and this
gave people a chance to get together and do something more positive
that dealt with African American culture and philosophy," said
Zulu, who has been observing Kwanzaa with his family for over 23
years.
According to Chimbuko Tembo, co-assistant director of the
African American Cultural Center and co-vice-chair of the
Organization US, the holiday was intended to "reaffirm the
communitarian vision and values of African culture and reinforce
the bonds between African people everywhere."
"Kwanzaa celebrates the family, community and culture," Tembo
said. "In embracing Kwanzaa, we are embracing our past and
traditions. It gives us the chance to recommit ourselves to our
highest ideas and to celebrate the good of life."
The name Kwanzaa was derived from the Swahili expression
"matunda ya kwanza," which translates into "first fruits," based on
the first harvest celebrations held in ancient Africa. The second
"a" was added to "Kwanza" during the holiday’s first celebration in
1966 when seven children wanted to each hold up a letter of the
holiday’s name and organizers realized that one child would be left
out.
"Kwanza was made up of only six letters then and we wanted to
accommodate the wishes of our children so Dr. Karenga just added an
extra ‘a,’" Tembo said. "It worked out good because now the word
‘Kwanzaa’ is known as the holiday."
The spiritual core of Kwanzaa lies in the "Nguzo Saba," ("Seven
Principles" in Swahili), which Karenga developed in 1965 as a way
for African Americans to commemorate and reaffirm the basic values
retained from their African heritage. For each day of Kwanzaa, one
of the Seven Principles is introduced and discussed. Members take
turns explaining how they have practiced the certain principle in
their daily lives.
"These principles give people values and ideals to concentrate
on for the whole year," Zulu said. "They’re guidelines on how to
operate and perceive things."
The "Nguzo Saba" includes "Umoja" (Unity), "Kujichagulia"
(Self-Determination), "Ujima" (Collective Work and Responsibility),
"Ujamaa" (Cooperative Economics), "Nia" (Purpose), "Kuumba"
(Creativity), and "Imani" (Faith). People can choose to celebrate
these fundamental values through family or community centered
activities, often culminating in a collective African "karamu"
(feast) on Dec. 31.
Kwanzaa is celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. The decision to
observe the holiday between Christmas and New Year’s Day was based
on cultural and practical reasons.
"Kwanzaa is based on an African cultural celebration that is
celebrated at the end of the year," Tembo said. "Dr. Karenga also
chose that time because it fit into the pattern of year-end
celebrations in the U.S."
Since 1966, Kwanzaa has evolved into a holiday that is
celebrated around the world.
"It’s becoming more popular every year," Zulu said. "We used to
struggle to make it popular, but now you can go into stores and buy
Kwanzaa cards."
Akile, the founder of Kwanzaa People of Color, a Los
Angeles-based organization that sponsors African American cultural
festivals throughout the year, firmly believes that Kwanzaa’s
influence will only get bigger.
"Kwanzaa is a holiday of the new age," said Akile, a former UCLA
communications student. "It’s going to be around for 2,000 years
and will return us from a people who had been destroyed into a
cohesive element of people that has purpose with their lives."
Doing their part to spread the message of "Nguzo Saba," Kwanzaa
People of Color are holding their Annual Kwanzaa Gwaride Festival
from Dec. 26 to Dec. 29 in Leimert Park Village. Their 22-year-old
festival is one of many Kwanzaa community celebrations available
for people to participate in.
Since Kwanzaa is considered a cultural celebration and not a
religious one, this allows people of all faiths to observe it along
with other holidays, such as Christmas and Hanukkah. For some
people, celebrating both holidays serves to enhance each festivity
quite well.
Noluthando Williams, a fourth-year African American studies and
international development studies student, said that although she
still celebrates Christmas, Kwanzaa gives her a chance to honor her
heritage.
"For many kids, Christmas is Santa Claus, a big white man, and
not many children can relate to that," Williams said. "(Kwanzaa)
allows me to affirm who I am and who I strive to be. It’s a nice
holiday to compliment Christmas."
But while Williams, who is chair of the African Student Union
(ASU), has been observing Kwanzaa on her own for almost nine years,
she doesn’t think the ASU will hold an official Kwanzaa celebration
in the near future. This is due to a 1969 incident involving the
deaths of two Black Student Union members, Jonathan Huggins and
Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter, who were also members of the Black
Panther Party (BPP). According to various accounts, the two were
killed on Jan. 17, 1969, on the steps of Campbell Hall in a
shootout between members of Karenga’s Organization US that was
allegedly incited by the FBI. While the details of what transpired
that night are still unclear, Williams feels that it wouldn’t be
right for ASU, which evolved from the Black Student Union, to
officially sponsor a festivity created by the Organization US.
"Once I became aware of this, it really made me think twice
about Kwanzaa," Williams said. "Out of respect for Bunchy Carter
and Jonathan Huggins, ASU is not having an official celebration for
Kwanzaa."
Tembo stated that the 1969 incident was only one of many
instigated by the FBI to further aggravate the tensions between the
Organization US and the Black Panthers in the late ’60s.
"During the ’60s, everyone carried a gun," Tembo said. "There
was a shootout provoked by the FBI and shots were fired in both
directions. The FBI purposely antagonized this."
Because of the continuing disputed stories, it would be
difficult to ever really know what happened that night.
"There’s no real documentation of what happened at the time,"
Zulu said. "It’s been rumor after rumor, and now there’s a whole
new generation with more rumors."
Tembo was quick to point out that the Organization US and the
BPP’s legacy, the Panther Vanguard Movement, often speak at each
other’s forums and will continue to work with each other,
indicating that their past differences have subsided.
Most agree with Tembo that people should look past political
histories and realize that Kwanzaa is a celebration of African
American unity.
"I decided that I would still celebrate Kwanzaa on a broader
context of what it could mean," Williams said.
"It’s not just about lighting candles," Akile said. "Kwanzaa is
a unifying source. It’s a holiday that serves to heal and remind us
to return to the beginning."
For more information on Kwanzaa, call the Kwanzaa People of
Color (323) 965-0935 or visit the official Kwanzaa website at
www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.
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