Should Kwanzaa Stay in our Neighborhoods?

By Irene Monroe

Immediately following Christmas this year will mark Kwanzaa ’s thirty eighth anniversary. From December 26th through January 1st,  millions of African Americans, like myself, will start their week-long celebration  by greeting families and friends with the Swahili term Harbari gani! which means “What’s happening!”.  Much of what will be happening will be talk  about  whether the commercialization and takeover by larger retailers of this holiday celebration violates the seven principles (the Nguzo Saba) of Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa which means “the first fruits of the harvest” was founded in 1967 by Dr. Maulana “Ron” Karenga, then chairman of the African American Studies department at California State University at Long Beach. Thought to be a black version of Christmas, Kwanzaa is neither   a religious holiday nor a substitute for  Christmas. It is a spiritual and cultural holiday whose seven principles of unity (umoja) , self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamma) , purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba),  and faith (imani)  represent and reaffirm traditional African American values that extends to all Americans .

The practice of black economic power and self - reliance have kept the holiday of Kwanzaa financially afloat.  Unlike Christmas which is characterized by rampant commercialism and the accumulation of material objects, Kwanzaa’s emphasis is on human relationships and on the spiritual ties and responsibilities to African  Americans first  have to one another, and then to the larger society.

However, gifts, called zawadi, do play an important role during Kwanzaa.  Gifts exchanged  are either handmade or purchased from African American vendors in keeping with the fourth principle of Kwanzaa known as cooperative  economics.

As a small but thriving business, Kwanzaa keeps black dollars afloat longer in African American enclaves across the country  than any other  national holiday.  Because its products like the kinara (the candle holder for seven candles, one black, three red and three green), the Kikombe Cha Umoja (communal unity cup), the  Mkeka (place mat), and the bendea (the African American  national flag) can only be found in neighborhood Afrocentric  curio shops, African American consumers shop there instead of outside  their communities. An example of this concern was exhibited during the dedication ceremonies which unveiled the Kwanzaa stamp in 1997.  Prepaid phone cards,  lapel pins, book markers and greeting cards with the Kwanzaa stamp logo on them were all made in China. On the hold, these communities profit modestly because Kwanzaa  items  are sold all year long.

Also, because African American businesses in this country are plagued with financial instability due to racial and economic disparities, commercial widespread commercialization of Kwanzaa in stores like Target, Wal-Mart would keep the Kwanzaa dollars afloat, many argue, but these small African American businesses would not financially profit from this sort of commercial popularity albeit it would be  another acknowledgment of  African Americans’ unique contribution  to the larger U.S. economy.

And in watching how  the dollar trail leaves small community owned businesses and pours into huge conglomerate  store chains how do any of the small own businesses  across the country survive  against these corporate  Goliaths?

And if Kwanzaa , in particularly, goes corporate can it still maintain  its  unique character and not lose it’s soul?

This Kwanzaa holiday I’ll head out to the neighborhood store to purchase my red, black and green candles for the kinara, because I know that the strength of the U.S. economy is found in its multicultural small owned businesses that reflect our nation’s diversity that has become part of the American pie.  And in so doing, I would also be honoring the fourth principle of Kwanzaa which is cooperative economics.

*   *   *   *   *

posted 24 December 2005  / update 23 June 2008