by Shawn Nowlin
Kwanzaa is a yearly celebration of African American culture and traditional values observed from December 26 to January 1. Created 57 years ago by academic and activist Dr. Maulana Karenga during the aftermath of the Watts riots, Kwanzaa, unlike Christmas, is not religiously based. It is a celebration of African beliefs and heritage.
The word Kwanzaa, meaning “first fruits” from the Swahil phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” is where the word is borrowed from. Gifts are exchanged on the last night with homemade presents being preferred.
Last Thursday, (12/14) the Harrison Museum of African-American Culture in downtown held an event to honor the holiday. Free to the public, among those present was Paris Swain of Rocky Mount’s Warren Street Historical Society.
“People need to understand what our ancestors went through. We need to understand what they left us so we can continue moving forward,” Museum Board chairman Charles Price said. “All of us are going to leave something behind to hopefully make things better. We do this celebration every year because it is of the utmost importance.”
There are seven Kwanzaa principles: Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective work and responsibility (Ujime), Cooperative economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba) and Faith (Imani). A different value is observed every day.
“I implore all of us, myself included, to practice our principles and demonstrate the unity we need by working together. It is up to all of us,” Charles’ wife, Anita, added. “What we don’t give and feed our children, the world will try to take away from us. So many are trying to erase Black history; put us in a box of just shucking and jiving when we know that is not true.”
For Pan-Africanists like Dr. Karenga, the colors red, black and green are very important. Red denotes the struggle, black is for the people and green represents the future.
“When you have been working for as long as I have, you want progress to be further along. I often find myself holding people’s feet to the fire, especially individuals who are standing in the way. And I don’t make any apologies for that,” Melinda Payne said. “When you are younger, you tend to let things slide. As you age, you start seeing things for what they are and saying what needs to be said.”
One doesn’t have to be Black to celebrate Kwanzaa. Commemorated all over the United States, as many as 12 million people participate annually.
“I am thinking about my future great-grandchildren who may have to deal with problems we don’t even see. How can this organization exist when we don’t understand how we should exist beyond more than just a day? How can the museum put out things that would catch the eye?” Charles said.
He continued, “There were over 200 businesses in the African-American community. A lot of those were at one time around Henry Street through Orange Avenue. I don’t know how many businesses there are today, but after integration, we found ourselves with fewer and fewer of them. Here with us today is Lenai Clegg, owner and CEO of Culture Ethnic Shop, LLC. We have to collectively do better as a community of supporting one another.”
