Kwanzaa Challenges Black Students With Opportunity

The celebration of Kwanzaa from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 gives black college students the opportunity to unite with family and friends as they encourage each other to live by the highest ideals of African and African American culture.

Photo credit: www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org Kwanzaa has seven basic symbols, each representing values and concepts that its creators say reflect African culture.

"I've done a lot of Kwanzaa celebrations at Howard University," said Ayo Handy-Kendi, founder and director of the Washington, D.C.-based African American Holiday Association. "We had a discussion and the students said that they like the aspect of Kwanzaa that embraces unity within our community. The biggest challenge for young people is we have a divided community."

Maulana Karenga, a professor and chairman of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966 to stress African history, values, family, community and culture.

The term Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which means "first fruits," according to the Official Kwanzaa Website, www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org, an Internet source for Karenga's annual writings on the cultural holiday. Many ancient African civilizations held "first fruits" celebrations of their harvest.

To each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is assigned one of seven guiding principles known as the Nguzo Saba. These principles are: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Kwanzaa can help students reaffirm these values within the African American community, said Tulivu Jadi, who for the past 24 years has been co-assistant director of the African American Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Karenga referred questions about the holiday to the managers of the cultural center.

"We have brothers that want to drop out when they do not ace an exam or have no money," said Jadi. "We can use the values of Kwanzaa to strengthen other students. The values have application on a practical level. Unity doesn't mean 'let's get together.' It's a quest to make our conduct correspond with our convictions."

Jadi said he began celebrating the holiday with fellow members of the black student union while at the University of Arizona.

"During Kwanzaa, you commit yourself to renew and restore the relationships with your family and your friends," he said. "In some cases, those relationships have been fractured."

Celebrating Kwanzaa gives students a chance to step back and take a "sober assessment" of their lives, he noted. In addition, he said he has found that Kwanzaa really brings people together.

"As African American students, they are reaffirming the best of what it means to be a student," Jadi said. "African American students are heirs and custodians of both an ancient and current tradition of academic excellence, and are compelled to join it to our historical social justice tradition and struggles," he maintained.

Photo credit: U.S. Postal Service In October, a second Kwanzaa stamp was issued.

Thirty-eight years after Karenga began publicizing his creation, the holiday is celebrated in America, Africa, the Caribbean, South America and Brazil. In October, the U.S. Postal Service issued a new Kwanzaa stamp, its second since 1997.

The new stamp, by art director Derry Noyes and Daniel Minter, an African American children's book artist, features seven figures in robes, who represent the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

"We must have recognition of our celebration," said Kendi, the holiday association director. "Whenever we embrace something, it is usually not recognized. Even President Bush has pushed out a Kwanzaa message. I think that the country should recognize our African American celebration. It is a contribution to the world at large."

While Kendi is encouraged by the new stamp, she is very concerned about the recent commercialization of Kwanzaa.

"Black folks spend a lot of money," Kendi said. "We have to recycle that money through our own community."

The principle of unity is extremely important to Kendi because she said she believes that it is the key to the future success of the African American community.

The week of Kwanzaa culminates with the karmu, which is the night of the big feast. It features plenty of food, and African and African American music, dances, art and stories.

During the holiday, educational or artistic gifts are given, primarily to children. To stress the traditional African value of learning, these must be presented with a heritage symbol and a book.

"This holiday is more than having a good time," Kendi said. "It enables us to go back and make the links between African and African American. We must hold them and make it sacred. Who can do it but us?"

She added, "During Kwanzaa, our harvest is in appreciating each other and respecting each other. This is needed to restore our broken community."

The celebration of Kwanzaa does not substitute for Christmas. Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one.

Kwanzaa traditions include decorating a room with traditional African items, such as baskets and patterned cloths and objects symbolic of the harvest. Each day of Kwanzaa, a candle is lighted in a kinara, a seven-branched candle holder.

"On the final day, evaluate what your life is standing for," said Jadi, the cultural center official. "Kwanzaa offers students the opportunity to reaffirm family values. All of these students are a member of a family and a community."

Titus Ledbetter III is a student at Hampton University.

Posted Dec. 24, 2004