By Bruce Kauffman
There is an old saying, “You can light the lamp or curse the darkness.” Certainly Dr. Mualana Karenga, a professor and the chairman of the Black Studies department at California State University at Long Beach, had seen the darkness. He witnessed it first hand in August of 1965 during the “Watts Riots” — six days of burning, looting, property destruction, death and injury incited by angry African-Americans, who decided they could no longer tolerate their living conditions in the rundown Watts section of Los Angeles, or their treatment by the white power structure, especially the L.A. Police Department, which was considered one of the most racist, corrupt and brutal police departments in the country.
But rather than curse that dark time, Dr. Karenga decided to light a lamp. The following year, he organized a holiday that had its roots in the cultures of African tribes from the past and present. His hope was that this holiday would serve as an antidote to Watts, and the conditions that caused the riots, by celebrating and calling America’s attention to the very best of African-American family traditions, communities and culture
He called his holiday Kwanzaa — from the Swahili word for “first fruits of the harvest” — and he modeled it after research he had done on ancient African “first-fruit” harvest celebrations, in particular those observed by the Ashanti and Zulu tribes.
Dr. Karenga established Kwanzaa as a seven-day observance that begins every December 26 and lasts until the New Year, but it is a misperception that he intended to establish a “black Christmas.” In fact, he never intended Kwanza to be a strictly religious holiday. His idea was that Kwanzaa would be a mixture of individual family observances interspersed with a number of traditional Kwanzaa rituals, including songs, dances, African drums, story-telling and poetry readings.
In addition, Dr. Karenga’s Kwanzaa is organized around five fundamental activities, including the gathering of family and friends, reverence for the creator and creation, commemoration of the past — including honoring family ancestors — a recommitment to the ideals of the community, and the celebration of life and achievement. Another related tradition during Kwanzaa is to have young family members light the mishumaa — the seven candles of Kwanzaa — to honor the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Those principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, economic cooperation, purpose, creativity and faith. In addition, each night of Kwanzaa time is set aside to discuss what these principles mean and how they can build and reinforce a sense of community and heritage among all African-Americans.
Today Kwanzaa is celebrated by some 20 million people around the world, a tribute to Dr. Karenga, an unsung hero not just of African-American history, but of history.
Bruce Kauffmann’s e-mail address is bruce@historylessons.net.
