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1 ABSTRACT Kwanzaa I Chose to Examine the Relationship Between ABSTRACT Kwanzaa I chose to examine the relationship between Kwanzaa and religion attempting to illustrate why the Black community found Kwanzaa so alluring and what relevance the holiday holds today. Doctor Maulana Karenga established Kwanzaa in 1966, in Los Angeles. Kwanzaa is an African American holiday, which celebrates family, community and culture. It is observed for a week each year starting on December 26th. The tradition spread through the country thanks to Karenga’s initial followers, public neighborhood spheres, a number of organizations and the work of political activists. Though it was purposely designed to be a secular celebration, it encompasses aspects associated with a number of religions including Christianity, Islam and Judaism, but because, of its spiritual structure and religious format people placed it in opposition to religious holidays, particularly Christmas. It has been criticized for racist undertones, attempting to substitute religion, and discouraging the black community from practicing their respective faiths. The spread and development of Kwanzaa illustrates that many African Americans ascertain a need to separate their culture and identity from white societal supremacy. Kwanzaa provides Black people with the opportunity to redefine their cultural identity a right denied to their ancestors who a large extent had to abandon their roots and traditions when they were forcibly removed from their homes, shipped to a different continent and implanted in a society, which reduced them to slaves. Kwanzaa is one of the few remnants of the Black Power movement and resulted in a bold reworking of the American calendar. It uniquely overlaps the spheres of religion and politics, and functions as an interesting point of entry for contemporary discourses surrounding race. 1 Karenga, Maulana. "Kwanzaa African American Celebration of Family, Community and Culture by Maulana Karenga." The Official Kwanzaa Web Site. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml>. I started with the official Kwanzaa website because I needed to get some background on the holiday before getting into material that pertains to my question. I though this was the most authoritative source on the history and purposes of Kwanzaa. My understanding is that most of it has been written by Doctor Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa. The site appears somewhat amateur; a lot of the links and pictures aren’t in place, but in contrast, the information on the page is written in a very eloquent manner. “Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture.” It is celebrated for a week each year starting on December 26th. It was established by Doctor Maulana Karenga in 1966, but is said to be rooted in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name; in Swahili (the most widely spoken African language), the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" means "first fruits." The holiday was a response to white supremacy and an “expression of recovery and reconstruction of African culture, which was being conducted in the general context of the Black Liberation Movement of the '60's and in the specific context of The Organization Us, the founding organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of its tradition.” Kwanzaa was created for a number of reasons. First, it aims to assert and restore the roots of African culture. Second, it serves as a regular, communal celebration, which reaffirms and reinforces the bonds between African people, and strengthens the common identity, purpose, and direction of Africans as a world 2 community. Thirdly, it used as a way to celebrate and practice the Nguzo Saba, or the Seven Principles. These seven communitarian African values are: Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia)), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba), and Faith (Imani). Details pertaining to Kwanzaa can also be found on this website under hyperlinks regarding symbols, greetings, colors and decorations, and meditation. This website contains a few paragraphs on the application of meditation in Kwanzaa, something that has not been mentioned in any other sources. The last day of the celebration is called the Day of Assessment or the Day of Meditation during which people should engage in quiet reflection. “The idea on this [day] is to maintain a quiet, humble and calm attitude with regard to oneself and towards one's neighbors. It is thus a good time for reassessment and recommitment on a personal and family level.” The site also provides an Odu Ifa meditation text. This aspect of Kwanzaa, largely omitted from sources with a Christian agenda, could speak to the multicultural and multi-religious influence that Eastern tradition or thought have also had on Kwanzaa. Arguably, some of the Nguzo Saba, such as collective responsibility, cooperative economics, and unity could also be seen as Eastern influence. Morrow, Carlotta. "The Truth About Kwanzaa - Should Christians Celebrate It - Should Anyone Celebrate It?" The Truth About Kwanzaa - Should Christians Celebrate It - Should Anyone Celebrate It? 29 Dec. 2001. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/598056/posts>. Carlotta Morrow is a devout Evangelical Christian African-American. Her educational background is not clear, but a quick search on her revealed that she’s been published “in the Southern California Christian Times (now called the San Diego 3 Christian Examiner) and San Diego Union-Tribune.” (“About Carlota Morrow” at: http://christocentric.com/main/?page_id=2452) She also wrote a book titled “Kwanza: Contrary to Christianity.” Most the content on this website was originally published on christocentric.com, but this particular website is a continuation of Morrow’s personal blog which was discontinued. She explains that her research on Kwanzaa was triggered by “a new conviction in getting the truth out to warn people about Kwanzaa.” She describes the celebration as a “wolf in sheep's clothing" ready to devour those unaware of its dark, racist and humanistic messages.” The website explains that Morrow’s sister was a member of Dr. Karenga's Black activist group called the US Organization, and that she denounced her faith in Christ claiming Christianity as a white man's religion. Morrow writes that she experienced the groups’ teachings first hand and that she was “shocked at the ‘us’ against the ‘white man’ attitude that seeped through the meetings, and especially at the negativity directed toward the Christian and Jewish religions.” Morrow sets up a lot of her analysis based on comparisons she draws between Karenga’s early work and his more recent publications. She analyzes, for instance, whether Kwanzaa is a celebration for all people by comparing a quote from Kwanzaa: Origin, Concepts, and Practice written in 1977 with another from Kwanzaa: Celebration of Family, Community and Culture. Morrow questions whether Karenga had a change of heart or if this was his attempt to appeal to the masses. Morrow emphasizes her analysis of Karenga's writings on the subject of Kwaznaa as a substitute for Christmas. Again, she contrasts his early work with some of his later work drawing quotes from Kawaida Theory and from Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family Community and Culture. 4 Morrow sees Karenga’s shift towards a more liberal approach as something which diminishes the legitimacy of his claims. She concludes that Karenga “intended for Kwanzaa to be more than a once a year event, a complete new "religion" that would change the lives of many and spiritually rebuild them into becoming a better person.” It is clear, however, that she in no way agrees with this view, and that those who celebrate Kwanzaa, and moreover use it as a religious system, should not be doing so. Her understanding of Kwanzaa is very fundamentalist. At the very least, her main points are representative of the views some Christians who clearly feel anxious about and threatened by Kwanzaa may hold. Morrow fails to take into account Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding theory and recognize that Kwanzaa can register in a different way, a way that does not lay emphasis on such early and radical teachings, and appeal and positively impact people of all races even if they were not the intended audience. Robinson-Jacobs, Karen. "Religion; Uniting Faith, Culture; Kwanzaa Celebrations Become Part of Worship Services in Many African American Churches." Los Angeles Times, Dec 27, 1997. http://search.proquest.com/docview/421232864?accountid=12261. This article explains that because the number of people who celebrate Kwanzaa has increased to 25 million, the festivities are no longer reduced to after- hour ceremonies in church basements but are observed within the African American church, incorporated in or merged with Sunday morning worship services. “The move is seen by some as part of an increasing Afrocentrism within the African American church and a movement away from centuries of European-flavored Christianity.” This includes, “African-inspired dress on Sunday morning, African drums in the music 5 ministry and the incorporation of other African symbols and principles in the worship experience.” According to a number of black ministers, embracing African culture is at the core of the growing Afrocentric movement within the black church. Of course, there are also other churches and ministers who do not agree and do not celebrate Kwanzaa, only the birth of Jesus Christ. Though many of those principles of the holiday are similar to teachings in the Bible, these progressive ministers acknowledged that some people within their congregations may be troubled by the incorporation of a nonreligious observance into the worship service, especially coming so close to Christmas. Like Karenga, they argue that the “the beauty of Kwanzaa is that you can do both” since it is designed to focus on the achievements and heritage of people of African descent reaffirming the rootedness of their culture, bringing African Americans together on common ground, instead of being based on religion.
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