Posted on 12/31/2006 3:03:45 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Forty years after its creation by a California professor, Kwanzaa got its first citywide celebration in Madison on Saturday amid conga drumming, dance, rap and poignant remembrances of deceased African Americans including "Godfather of Soul" James Brown and popular local television anchorman Mike McKinney.
"There is purity in our hearts as we call on those who have gone before us to come into our midst as we celebrate this Kwanzaa event," organizer Godwin Amegashie told the gathering of about 250 people at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on the East Side.
The names of dozens of recently deceased ancestors were read before three girls - Dorothea Manadier, Michaelean Johnson and Isis Bernard of the Fountain of Life Praise Dancers - offered a graceful, proud interpretation of Kwanzaa's seven core values.
Those principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. They're celebrated each year, one emphasized per day, beginning Dec. 26 and ending Jan. 1.
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by California State University professor Maulana Karenga to encourage people of African descent to reconnect to their roots.
Edith Lawrence-Hilliard, who spearheaded Madison's first citywide Kwanzaa celebration, said her family has lived in the city for 141 years - eight generations - and has celebrated the holiday privately every year since its creation.
"I'm kind of in awe," she said as she snacked on cake after the one-hour ceremony, which featured an original rap tribute to Kwanzaa by her grandson, Harry Bernard, a student at Madison East High School.
Lawrence-Hilliard acknowledged that Kwanzaa remains little understood by many residents, including African Americans, but predicted that with the public celebration, more people of all ages will take part.
Organizers said they're certain to stage another citywide event next year.
Fabu Carter Mogaka said she attended similar events as a child in Memphis, Tenn., and the debut of Kwanzaa in Madison, her home since 1978, is important.
"To be able to have a celebration here makes it feel like home," said Mogaka, who shared with the audience the symbols she displays in her Madison home to reinforce the holiday's principles.
There's a small mat - the foundation upon which everything rests - and a candleholder for seven candles, which traditionally represent aspects of the family.
Ears of corn stand for her son, Woodie, who attends UW- Madison.
There are photos of her parents, Herman and Bernice Carter, who died two years ago, five days apart.
She keeps a quilt of Mississippi cotton, handed down from her grandmother and made of clothing scraps from her ancestors.
"I wrap my family around me," she said.
Mogaka is a community educator with Mentoring Connections, which seeks mentors for the children of incarcerated parents. She said Kwanzaa helps her retain an upbeat outlook even when confronted with struggles.
"I always have hope," Mogaka said.
Ears of corn stand for her son, Woodie, who attends UW- Madison.
I don't know how you can read that and not laugh.
Zoykes! Husband just sent me the 'Calvin & Hobbes' one, and it made me sad. Who DIDN'T have a 'live' stuffed animal when they were a kid?
Oops! Did I say too much? LOL!
I think folks in this country should be free to celebrate any holiday they want to. I celebrated Christmas Eve with my brother-in-law by firing nearly 1,000 rounds into tin cans set up on a dirt hill.
One of many real laughs during the OJ trial was over the use of "African American." Christopher Darden made several references to a person being "African American." When someone pointed out that although the man was black he was British there was a lot a stammering and mumbling. No one claimed Darden was very sharp.
Yeah!! Me too. But there is a vast difference between a dream and a nightmare.
A Charlie Brown Kwanza (definitely rated R for content)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lyaWRzCxY8
Ah yes the traditional donning of the Kwanza Sheet.
Dear God, Please save me from ever, ever, having to spend one New York Minute -- or One Measly Farthing -- in Madison, Wisconsin -- the intellectual and philosophical cesspool of Middle America academia!
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If you want on (or off) this Catholic and Pro-Life ping list, let me know!
Right on!
Kwanzaa: A racist holiday created by a racist.
I didn't really even hear about this "holiday (NOT)" this year. Perhaps it is starting to go away?
Kwanzaa should ALWAYS be accompanied by a "BARF ALERT":
http://christocentric.com/Kwanzaa/
That is one helluva PUNch line! LOL!
"You can't even get a majority of Blacks to celebrate this made-up holiday."
You can't even get a double-digit percentage of blacks to celebrate this made-up holiday.
This is the media pushing for racial division, plain and simple. The media and politicans are FAR more interested in this "holiday" than the people. It is estimated that less than 2% of the people in this country clebrate Kwaanza (mostly journalists and black nationalists) yet it somehow warrants a mention by the president and a write-up in just about every paper in the country.
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Next year it will be Festivus (which I think was Seinfeld's way of mocking Kwanza).
My first thought was "what did they burn down in the riot?"
LoL....
Yeah and Mystic Knights of the Sea wearing antlers rubber banded to their heads pulling the sleigh..
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