The African American Center and Pan African Alliance (PAA) united to bring renowned speaker Jawanza Kunjufu to their annual Kwanzaa Celebration last Thursday, in order to inform and educate the Tufts community about Kwanzaa, one of December's least understood holidays.
Kunjufu, author of Developing Positive Self-Images and Discipline in Black Children, Black Economics: Solutions for Community Values, is a lifetime educator on African-American culture and has been touring as a speaker since 1974. He serves as a consultant to public school districts around the country and is a prolific writer on African-American issues.
Kwanzaa, created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, is a nondenominational holiday for all black people. The holiday, as designed by Karenga, centers around five fundamental activities. They are: gathering black people of all cultural and religious backgrounds together; giving special reverence for the Creator and the creation; commemorating the past and honoring those whose shoulders black people stand on, recommitting to the highest ideals symbolized by Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa; and celebrating the good things in family, community, and other facets of life.
"Kwanzaa grows among African people because it speaks to their need and appreciation for its cultural vision and life-affirming values, values which celebrate and reinforce family, community, and culture," according to the literature distributed at the event.
Kunjufu described the goal of Kwanzaa as being multifaceted: "It has seven goals; they all in their own way inspire people to use their culture to empower them."
While Kunjufu speaks to audiences on a plethora of topics, he said he always allows the group that invites him to determine what he speaks about in that presentation. Seeing Kunjufu as one of the foremost experts on Kwanzaa, the African American Center and PAA asked him to dedicate his speech to elucidating the finer points and symbolism of the holiday.
Kunjufu led the assembly in describing all the ritual objects and themes used in celebrating Kwanzaa. He went into detail identifying and explaining the seven candles that represent Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. The seven principles, in Swahili, are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith).
Additionally, Kunjufu spoke extensively on the state of black America and how the themes expressed in Kwanzaa are geared towards helping blacks improve their lives and their communities.
He pointed to the 66 percent divorce rate among blacks, which is about 16 percent higher than other ethnic groups, and the fact that blacks collectively have $533 million in buying power and spend only about three percent of their money on black owned businesses as being significant problems in the African American community.
"Do whatever you can to spend more of your money in African American business. This is the spirit of cooperation," Kunjufu said.
Kunjufu, continuing to talk about how money relates to morals and values, said that people should love what they do and not worry about income. "God knows what he wants you to do... If you choose your major for the money what is the difference between you and a prostitute. You'll be a high class prostitute."
Kunjufu urged blacks to consider was teaching. He made reference to the large ethnic gap among elementary and secondary teachers, pointing out that there are limited number of black teachers and even fewer black male teachers. He cited the problematic situation that many black male students never have a black male teacher, giving them a role model.
"The future of our children is in the hands of white, female teachers," Kunjufu said with disapproval.
In the spirit of unity and Kwanzaa, Kunjufu he put forth four steps blacks can do in their own lives to improve the greater African American community. First, he said, everyone must speak and speak up about his or her ideas and feelings. Second, individuals should avoid gossiping about other people because it can only bring about negative results. Third, Kunjufu specifically urged black men to be aware and to be honest, especially in relationships with the opposite sex. Fourth, in a comment he geared towards the women in the audience, he suggested that they should to respect others and not intrude on their intimate relationships.
The majority of the audience felt that Kunjufu was an excellent choice for the Kwanzaa celebration, citing the important issues he brought to light as well as his informative comments on the specifics of the actual holiday.
"I really enjoyed the speaker because he addressed issues we're experiencing here at Tufts," said Shayla Donald who was in the audience.
Donald, who is running for a PAA office, commented that the holiday of Kwanzaa holds special meaning for her. "I am a Black American, which means to me that my family came through slavery. Kwanzaa gives me the ability to recapture some of the feelings and sentiments that were lost in slavery," she said.
"I thought Dr. Kunjufu was great," said Tommy Calvert, a PAA member. "He was right on target with so many issues. I want him to come into Tufts and shake things up and make some tangible improvements."
As is evident from the attendance at the festival, not all members of Tufts black community feel as strongly about Kwanzaa as others do. Ola Friday, a PAA member, said that she does not feel any particular attachment to the holiday because she was born in Jamaica and did not move to the US until she was five.
"My family is West Indian and [Kwanzaa] hasn't been part of my tradition since it's an African American holiday," she said.
