Kwanzaa and the Concept of Sankofa

NARRATIVES MAKING THE PAST MEANINGFUL: Kwanzaa and the Concept of Sankofa The African American holiday of Kwanzaa has become an important cultural practice among millions of African American peoples throughout world African community. This is a narrative of the process of conceptualizing and institutionalizing Kwanzaa, its emergence in the thrust toward re-Africanization during the Black Power Movement of the 6O's, its relationship to the Black liberation struggle, the development and meaning of its symbols, and its communitarian vision and values as expressed in the core values of Kwanzaa, the Ngtizo Saba. by Maulana Karenga The creation of the holi- a specialization in African day Kwanzaa is rooted in and Studies. I began to organize and reflective of the 6O's liberation teach in the community, shar- movement, the conception of my ing my knowledge, shaping role as an activist-scholar and, circumstances, and searching the vanguard role of my after what would be good for Dr. Maulana Karenga is organization Us as a cultural the future. My activities expan- professor and chair of the nationalist structure dedicated to ded after the Watts Revolt of Department of Black Studies, creating, recreating and cir- 1965, a turning point in the California State University, Long culating African culture and the Movement and a point of Beach and creator of the African struggle for a just and good departure for my involvement in American holiday of Kwanzaa. society. "the stinggle." As an activist-scholar in I had worked in the civil the 6O's, I had felt a profound rights movement earlier, demon- need to use my knowledge in the strating against chain-stores with service of the people, and make segregation policies in the South, it available to the masses to and assisting in fundraising, improve and enrich their lives. rallies, and forums on and off This commitment to serve came campus on the meaning and from the life and lessons of great goals of the struggle. The Revolt men and women I admired and became a sign and symbol for the studied, and from the lessons need to turn inward, establish and expectations of people from community control, acquire, and my childhood. Our mother and practice what came to be called father, our immediate and Black Power. I defined the goals extended family, our friends, oxir of the Black Power Movement as pubUc school teachers, and the a collective thrust to achieve and sheltering ancient oaks we called maintain three things: (1) self- "old folks" and "elders" all determination (freedom in the expected and predicted that I general sense and community would do something of lasting control in a specific sense), (2) value to serve our people and self-respect (self-understanding honor our family. and self-appreciation rooted in With this in mind, in 1965 paradigms from our own I left the University of California, culture), and (3) self-defense, Los Angeles and the doctoral (the collective capacity to end program in political science with existing oppression and abuse. FALL 95 REFLECTIONS: 36 MAKING THE PAST MEANINGFUL NARRATIVES and prevent future oppression Movement was essentially Black institutionalized cultural prac- and abuse by the state, especially Power. One of its central tenets tice serves as a central way of by the police). was the need to "return to the reappropriating and reaffirming The urgency of this source," to get "Back to Black," African culture. project was underlined by the in a word, to return to all things I moved to this position assassination and sacrifice of African, especially the most and became a leader of this Malcolm X, and the models of important things. The focus was movement for several reasons. liberation by African countries. on recovery, reconstructing First, the civil rights struggle had The Revolt illuminated and African culture, reappropriating revealed the weaknesses of ideas framed the issues in the it, and reaffirming it as a living about assimilation. Certainly, discourse of power. The central tradition. In this context cultural we all wanted desegregation, but message was that students like practices such as renaming I and others rejected integration. me had a special obligation to oneself and one's children with Desegregation would destroy work on the project as we were, African names; wearing the barriers to the exercise of rights more idealistic, less eco- natural or Afro hair style and and free exchange, but inte- nomically vulnerable and less African clothes such as the buba, gration, as I read it, assumed that restrained by the demands of kanga and dashiki; relearning we as persons and a people daily life. We agreed that we and learning African languages, wanted and needed to be with must dare to struggle, win, and especially Swahili; and whites to achieve and fulfill build the new moral community reinstituting African life-cycle ourselves. This, I rejected of we wanted to live in. ceremonies such as naming necessity. Second, I began to (Kutaja jina), nationalization conclude that cultural pluralism (Akika), wedding (Arusi), and was the best way to achieve To do my work and to passing (Maziko),were and are quality relationships and achieve something of lasting developed. mutually beneficial and coopera- value, I created two basic Within this thrust for re- tive exchanges in society. I had instruments, an organization Africanization, Black Studies championed cultural pluralism called Us and a theory called was established in the academy, in a letter to the editor in 1960 in Kawaida. The name Us was and the network of community the Daily Collegian at Los chosen to indicate two things: the institutions to restore and Angeles Community College. communitarian views, values, reinforce African culture was Then, my position was a liberal and practice of the organization expanded. These institutions cultural pluralist one. Now, I and our commitment to us as a included cultural centers, advocated a cultural nationalist people distinct from them, the independent schools, theaters, pluralism. Third, I emphasized rulers of the established order. art galleries, and brotherhood re-Africanization because I Kawaida, in Swahili means and sisterhood formations. Re- perceived that cultural identity tradition, but in the context of its Africanization also involved a was the most fundamental way theory, it refers to an ongoing return to Africa itself for cultural to understand and realize synthesis of tradition and reason and spiritual revitalizaüon, and oneself. One's concept of directed toward cultural the reestablishment of mutually humanity is inescapably tied to grounding and social change. beneficial relationships and the cultural paradigms. As an Within this framework I exchanges. At the core of this African, I chose to understand conceived the project of commitment to re-Africanization and realize myself in and Kwanzaa and enumerated the was the attempt to recover and through African culture. Nguzo Saba, (The Seven recommit oneself to learning and I embraced this position Principles) the core of its living African values as an with greater fervor when I conception and practice. indispensable way to rebuild discovered the rich, varied, and From 1965 on, the and reinforce family, community, ancient character of African expression and process of the and culture. Kwanzaa as an culture. As an intellectual, I had 37 REFLECTIONS: FALL 95 MAKING THE PAST MEANINGFUL NARRATIVES been surfeited with and turned This position was argued dance), and ethos, i.e., the off by the Eurocentric approach within movement organizations. collective psychology which to human knowledge. It seemed Some organizations argued for results from practice in the other at one point that all subjects strength through education; six areas of culture. taught were openly or others for economic Kawaida maintains that surrepfitiously long and boring development; and sfill others for the quality of social practice is self-congratulatory narratives of "picking up the gun." We directly related to the quality of Europe and European peoples. I maintained that all these ways the cultural views and values needed to know and understand were necessary but not sufficient which inform and ground it. my culture and the cultures of because what was needed, as Values are defined as categories other peoples of color, but Fanon said, was a total solution of commitment and priorities especially my own. So, I on the objective as well as the which enhance or diminish detached myself from schools subjective level. Such a solution human possibilities. What one and the circles of associates and required culture, i.e., the totality considers important and places friends from the civil rights of thought and practice of a first in one's life determines the movement and turned inward people. We concluded that we quality and direcfion of one's life and toward Africa. I found, in could find guns anywhere, with both persons and peoples. both continental and diasporan especially in the hands of the These assumpfions about African cultures, models of oppressor. What was necessary, culture and values led me to human achievement and human was for the people themselves study African cultures and ask possibility that informed my to decide that struggle itself is what was the social cement that conception of self, the good life, necessary and then determine held these sociefies together and and the just, good society. Within and develop their means. Thus, gave them their humanistic this context I began my process we argued for a cultural character? Moreover, how could of re-Africanization, returning revolution to create a new logic to my own history and culture I make these ancient traditions and language of liberation and and building structures and live again? How could I use and new institutions to house and processes to achieve and spread teach others to use the past to advance our aspirafions.

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