The Practical Significance of Kwanzaa

By Junious Ricardo Stanton

As we begin this Kwanzaa season let us expand our understanding of the implications of Kwanzaa for impacting our world. The Akan of Ghana in West Africa have a word Sankofa which means "go back to the past and fetch what we need." Kwanzaa is a cultural celebration that is observed by people of African descent all around he world is consistent with the concept of Sankofa. By learning and practicing the Nguzo Saba the Seven Principles which are based upon traditional African values we can build a foundation that can be used to reunite, resurrect and revitalize the global African community and set us on our way towards the liberation of not only ourselves but in due time, the whole planet. 

What is it we are going back to fetch? First and foremost we must return (re-member or reconnect) to our humanity, rediscover what it means to be a fully functioning human being. We have the opportunity to alter our status and self-image first in our own minds then outwardly so we are in a better position to withstand the coming onslaught of racism and predatory global dominance of the New World Order. As the West under the leadership of AmeriKKKa moves to ferret out and expropriate the world's resources, and wealth while subjugating its people, the salvation against  it will be a fully conscious self-loving people who know who we are, know our people's legacy of accomplishment and who are willing to defend to the death our freedom to be ourselves. 

By celebrating Kwanzaa we are made conscious of the cultural unity not only on the African continent but also the importance of re-establishing it throughout the Diaspora. At a time when European neo-fascist imperialism led by the United States of AmeriKKKa is sweeping the globe, we need an alternative set of values to prevent us from being inundated by white supremacist pathology, materialism and culturally induced self-negation. Kwanzaa, if we practice the values inherent in the celebration all year round,  will help us realize our connectedness to our brothers and sisters all over the world languishing under the cultural and geo-political hegemony of Caucasians. 

These values based upon ancient African reciprocal We/I/Us obligations can and will provide a safe place psychologically for us to regroup, rebound and go forward amidst the storms and gales of both subtle and overt racial oppression. Kwanzaa also is a way for us to come together, meet and mingle, celebrate ourselves, gain strength from one another and plan for our resurgence as a people.

Sankofa is an admonition for us to acknowledge and return to what was ours, what made us great as a people, fetch it; meaning retrieve it and apply it to twenty-first century realities and circumstances to empower, ennoble and encourage us to continue the struggle against economic exploitation, racial oppression, the wanton desecration of the planet and the genocide against its people. Kwanzaa is a time to celebrate but it is also a call to action.

Sankofa, is a command "go back and fetch!" it is not some idle quote. We must be active if we are indeed to alter the present course of history. If we slack off, it we choose not to respond to the ancestral admonition to fetch that which is our's, reconnect with it (our African humanity identity and heritage), know it, bring it to our bosom and make it a part of us, we shall continue down the road to insanity in a hell hole created by aliens who have no concept of what it means to be human. In fact their goal is to dehumanize humanity so they can rule over us! 

Kwanzaa is a time to celebrate the timeless wisdom of our ancestors, a time for us to recommit to each other and the CREATOR by pledging to be all that we can be together realizing none of us can be whole without the support, nurturing and encouragement of the community from which we sprung. The concept- it takes a whole village to facilitate the actualization of each member is real, however we must recognize the village is sick from the relentless bombardment of Euro-centric values and white supremacist oppression. 

The pathologies in our communities are culturally induced. Our healing lies in our past, we must go back and fetch it, relearn what it means to integrate mind body and spirit and interact with our environment and community in ways that uplift, protect and edify all. Celebrating means practicing and implementing the values inherent in Kwanzaa. It's the way to make ourselves whole, sane and rebuild our communities.

POSITIVELY  BLACK (12-30-02)

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update 23 June 2008