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HABARI GANI?
KWANZAA YENU IWE NA HERI!
HARAMBEE!!!
The Kwanzaa-izing is reaching fever pitch as we approach the momentous golden jubilee of the celebration. This is particularly important for our children, especially if they are in whitestreamschools being subjected to months of hype about the “most European of all holidays” – Christmas.
So, in what has become an Afrika Speaks tradition, adult and child members of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement will be in the studio to chant, vibe and share Kwanzaa refelections.
The inference here is that, like all meaningful festivals, preparation is necessary to get the most out of it. (2) Moreover, the foundation of Kwanzaa is the Nguzo Saba, the seven life principles, the minimum set of values “which contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and culture… throughout the world African community,” namely:
Umoja (Unity) – To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) – To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves instead of being defined, named, created and spoken for by others.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) – To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) – To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
Nia (Purpose) – To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Kuumba (Creativity) – To do always as much as we can, in the best way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
Imani (Faith) – To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. (3)
In his 2009 Founder’s Message, Dr Maulana Karenga asserted:
“Surely, Kwanzaa would not have lasted if it had simply been a seasonal trend, a consumerist fad or the purchasable product of a corporate-cultivated consciousness. More-over, its resilience and relevance, like its origins and future, do not lie in official approval, presidential greetings or govern-mental recognition and endorsement by resolution on any level… Rather Kwanzaa was conceived, created and introduced to the African community as an audacious act of self-determination, a cultural creation that is rooted in and rose out of the wish and will of a people who saw its message deep in meaning, world-encompassing in reach, highly relevant in addressing critical issues of our time and the practice of its principles, as a valuable way to ground, guide and enrich their lives.” (4)
In light of this it is worth exploring the extent the principles and values of Kwanzaa (Nguzo Saba) permeate Afrikan lives outside the seven days of Kwanzaa. One way the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement have tried to actualise this is to name all the days after the Nguzo Saba, not just during Kwanzaa.
Although Kwanzaa is 50 this year, available evidence indicates that Kwanzaa came to the UK in 1980, courtesy of Pan-African Congress Movement (PACM) who organised a celebration in London that year. (5) This means that Afrika UK has over thirty years to work with the Nguzo Saba so as well using the celebration to evaluate our work for the year we may also want to review the last thirty-six years since the Nguzo Saba was introduced to us.
Some of this year’s celebrations include:
Kwanzaa Network UK – Umoja (Monday) on 26th December at the Round Chapel, 1D Glenarm Road, London E5 0NP from 3-9pm (http://www.kwanzaanetwork.com/).
Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement – Nia (Fri) 30th December 2016, from 2pm-9pm at the Waterlily Banqueting Suite, 69-89 Mile End Rd, London E1 4TT (https://www.alkebulan.org/kwanzaa/).
(1) Afrikan People and European Holidays: A Mental Genocide, Book I. Barashango and Associates. p. 58.
(2) Vanshika Dennis (01/06/15) What is the importance of festivals in life?https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-importance-of-festivals-in-life
(3) Dr. Maulana Karenga (2008) The Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles).http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/7principles.shtml.
(4) Dr. Maulana Karenga (24/12/09) Principles And Practices Of Kwanzaa: Repairing And Renewing The World. http://www.us-organization.org/position/documents/PrinciplesandPracticesofKwanzaa.pdf.
(5) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (12/2005) KWANZAA A Festive Celebration of Cultural Inspiration. The Whirlwind. p. 5
(11) Roberto Zurbano (23/03/13) For Blacks in Cuba, the Revolution Hasn’t Begun.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/opinion/sunday/for-blacks-in-cuba-the-revolution-hasnt-begun.html
So tonight we ask the question:
Kwanzaa – for seven days or for life?
1. Is it important to Kwanzaa-ize and prepare for the celebrations?
2. What is the impact of engaging in “European Holidays”?
3. Is Kwanzaa just an excuse for a good time the end of the year to be forgotten about afterwards?
4. Can we use the Nguzo Saba to address the issues facing us as a community?
5. Is it a good idea to name the days after the Nguzo Saba all year?
Our very special guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK and national co-Chair of the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Guide To Excellence.
Members of the Alkeu-Lan Revivalist Movement
Representatives from Kwanzaa Network UK