They should have this bizzle fo' sizzle:
Posted on 12/26/2005 3:05:24 PM PST by Ninian Dryhope
As the holiday grows with greeting cards and citywide celebrations, some wonder whether it's losing the intimacy that once fueled it
ON the table are children's books. Not Dick and Jane. Not Judy Blume. These are Afrocentric volumes about Kwanzaa, colorful hardcovers and paperbacks featuring dark-skinned children in African dress.
"Look at these," Angela Lindsey says to her kids, Chrishonta, 10, and Jaques, 4, while at the SHAPE Community Center recently. "These are nice."
Nice, but no sale. She's not there to buy Kwanzaa material. The single parent is a Houston Community College student and needs to use a computer.
The center is packed. It's the annual pre-Kwanzaa holiday market, a cornucopia of vendors selling hand-carved wooden statues and masks. African Shea Butter Lotion. Egyptian Musk incense. Purses. Shell-shaped earrings and beads. Oversized silver bracelets.
"My mom was into Kwanzaa when I was growing up," Lindsey, 32, says. "We used to come to the SHAPE Center all the time. Kwanzaa was a big deal. Then, once I got grown, I just stopped coming."
It's a familiar refrain.
As Kwanzaa has evolved from a niche cultural celebration to a Hallmark-card commercial push, loyalists wonder whether its traditions will translate to a younger generation sold on the idea that holidays are about buying gifts.
There's also apathy. Many know about Kwanzaa, but don't care. They're too busy or suffering holiday fatigue.
In Houston, a citywide celebration has for decades been the choice for many. Sponsored mainly by the SHAPE center and held at different locations each night during the seven-day holiday, the Houston Kwanzaa Celebration has cut a broad swath through the Bayou City.
Many wonder, though, whether the large celebrations take away from the small, familial vibe that Kwanzaa is meant to emit.
"I think they've each got their place," said Shani Jackson, 29, who plans to host a small gathering at her home. "I think the citywide celebrations are a good way to introduce people to Kwanzaa and get them familiar, but I think it's important to keep the intimacy. The best way to do that is by having events in your own home."
That's how it started.
When Kwanzaa began in 1966, people celebrated in their homes by inviting friends and family, cooking food and sharing the seven principles.
Over the years, however, Kwanzaa has become more mainstream and more commercialized.
The trend here has simply been to attend citywide celebrations.
"I don't really see enough people celebrating Kwanzaa in their individual homes," said SHAPE director Deloyd Parker. "I think a lot of our families are struggling, and that they have other pressing issues to deal with. Also, I think a lot of people in our communities still haven't caught on to Kwanzaa."
Started by a professor of black studies at California State University, Kwanzaa stresses preservation and celebration of African-American culture and history. Each day stresses a different principle, and participants share stories, eat and talk about the importance of each ideal.
In Houston, SHAPE began its Kwanzaa celebrations in the 1970s. The events grew so large they sought co-sponsors.
Church groups, bookstores and neighborhood centers were pulled in to create the Greater Houston Kwanzaa Planning committee.
Michael Dotson, a member of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, said his church will sponsor several events this year.
And yet, Dotson said, he struggles to get members of his own church to participate.
"I would say that out of 15,000 members, less than 1 percent (show up for Kwanzaa events)," Dotson said. "We have some participation on the opening night, but not much more after that."
But the smaller Kwanzaa gatherings aren't completely out of style. Jackson, 29, invites 10-20 friends and family members to her home one night during Kwanzaa. She's done so for years.
She stressed that an elaborate dinner party isn't necessary: Inviting a few people to discuss that day's principle will do just fine, she said.
Another misperception: That Kwanzaa is a celebration for activists.
"People think it's for the super, super Afrocentric or the black power movement folks," Jackson said. "But, it's an African-American holiday meant for everybody."
That's what Lindsey is learning. As she perused the merchandise at the SHAPE Center, she reflected on the ideals of Kwanzaa.
"Christmas is so done out of proportion," Lindsey said. "There's gifts and lights and we spend all that money. But, Kwanzaa is really about unity, if you think about it. Maybe if I learn a bit more about it, I'll celebrate it more."
LMAO.....
"Many know about Kwanzaa, but don't care. "
Why "care" about a farce?
I don't celebrate holidays founded in lies and racism.
Has anyone ever met a person who actually celebrated Kwanzaa?
They should have this bizzle fo' sizzle:
The best way to make this go away is not to ridicule it. Ridiculing it will fuel an anti-ridiculer backlash.
Just ignore it and let it die of its own absurdity.
Kwanzaa is doomed.
Bush's fault!!!
I'm not certain whether to give out soldering irons or vises for Kwanzaa.
How come Christmas and Chanukah celebrations in town are for people of all races, and Kwanzaa excludes all but blacks?
Sorry but there is nothing about Kwanzaa that I would want to celebrate. To me, it looks like a rip-off from Chanukah and the more I learn about the originator's purpose of creating this "holiday", the more I want to avoid it!
Not exactly. It was designed only for African-Americans and no one else. It is inherently racist and divisive, and was intended to be. If this farce wasn't "taught" in our public schools, it would have faded into deserved oblivion 30 years ago.
I just heard Kwanzaa mentioned once this year - on CNN. Hopefully it will be nothing but a memory by next Christmas.
It had a family vibe?
We live in the town where the whole Kwanzaa BS got started. I'm so proud...
Number of harvests on planet Earth in December --ZERO.
And CORN figures heavily as a symbol of Kwanzaa, yet corn is not indigenous to Africa.
Go figure!
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