Kwanzaa events to honor black unity, heritage

By Bob Jackson
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Denver's black community will kick off Kwanzaa celebrations Tuesday.

The festivities will begin at 6 p.m with the lighting of a 7-foot kinara (candle) at 26th and Welton streets, followed by a celebration at Brother Jeff's Cultural Center, 2836 Welton St.

The candle will be lit each evening at 5:30 through Sunday.

Kwanzaa is celebrated each day from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. It focuses on the Nguzo Saba, seven principles to be practiced throughout the year. The seven principles are umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith).

"The holiday is an expression of our black heritage and our black culture," said Isetta Crawford Rawls, coordinator of the Kwanzaa Committee of Denver.

The holiday is based on harvest celebrations in West Africa. Kwanzaa, a Swahili word meaing first, is derived from the phrase matunda ya kwanza, or the first fruits.

Kwanzaa emphasizes family and community. The holiday's founder says it was never intended to be a religious celebration.

"It's a special time to reinforce the bonds between us as African people and forget our differences and build on commonality," said Maulana Karenga, a black activist who decided in 1966 that a holiday was needed to enhance black pride.

"Therefore, all black people, regardless of their faiths, come together and celebrate Kwanzaa. It stresses that we must always remember the things that unite us and build on that basis."

It is estimated that 28 million Americans celebrate Kwanzaa annually.

Rawls, a poet and community activist in northeast Denver, remembers her first Kwanzaa in 1971. Now she makes frequent visits to schools to teach children the meaning of the celebration.

"We wanted to do it so bad, and we didn't know how," she said. "So, in the spirit of Kwanzaa, we had to improvise."

Each night, in the home celebration, observers light candles in a seven-branch candelabrum and discuss one of the principles. Homemade gifts are exchanged, African foods eaten and African music played, Rawls said.

The theme of this year's celebration is "Re-Membering Our Village."

Kwanzaa events

Events include:

-Tuesday

2 p.m.: Children's celebration at the Five Points Library, 2855 Glenarm St.

- Wednesday

2 p.m.: Children's celebration at the Ford Warren Library, 2825 High St.

7 p.m.: Church services at Zion Baptist Church, 933 E. 24th St; Family celebration at Hue-Man Experience Bookstore, 911 Park Ave. West.

-Thursday

2 p.m.: Youth session at MontbelloLibrary, 12955 Albrook Drive.

6 p.m.: Neighborhood reading project at Fire Station 10, Martin Luther King Boulevard and Steele Street.

7 p.m.: Family session at Choices Challenges & Images, 1537 Alton St., Aurora.

8:30 p.m.: Teen session at the Black American West Museum, 3091 California St.

-Friday

8 p.m.: Young adult sesssion at Cafe Nuba/Gemini Tea Emporium, 2860 Welton St.

-Saturday

9 a.m.: Ritual for men and women at CVO Worldwide, 1564 Elmira St., Aurora. Participants should wear white.

5 p.m.: Family gathering at Manual High School.

8 p.m.: Community celebration at the High Street Parish, East 34th Avenue and High Street.

-Sunday

2 p.m.: Elders celebration at Full Circle Intergenerational Project, 3050 Richard Allen Court.

-Monday

Day of reflection.

For more information, call the Kwanzaa Committee of Denver at (303) 297-0823.

December 24, 2000