Students celebrate Kwanzaa

Although it takes place during the Christmas season, Kwanzaa may seem more like Thanksgiving. Kwanzaa, the African-American holiday of self-determinism, lasts from December 26 to 31 and is celebrated by more than 300 University students annually. The holiday gained national prominence with the civil rights movement of the 1960s and was brought into popularity primarily by its creator Maulana Karenga, an activist and black studies professor at California State University at Long Beach. Kwanzaa was created in order to "link the continent of Africa to the experience of African-Americans," College junior Salamisha Tillet said. Although the holiday coincides with Christmas, it is completely unrelated. According to Phyllis Dennis, assistant director of Greenfield Intercultural Center, it is "non-religious and non-heroic." In fact, celebrants emphasize completely different themes while partaking in Kwanzaa festivities. "Christmas makes us get too much into gift giving and getting, while Kwanzaa helps us look into how we can help others," said College freshman Tiffany Robinson. To perpetuate the spirit of giving, gifts are handmade rather than store-bought, Tillet said. Dennis said the holiday rituals include lighting candles in a kinora --not unlike the menorah of the Jewish Chanukah -- and the recitation and discussion of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. These include umoja, kuumba and imani -- or unity, creativity and faith respectively. GIC is holding Kwanzaa festivities entitled "Gathering the African Diaspora" tonight. The ceremony will commence at 7 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium and a dinner will follow at 8 p.m. in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall. The ceremony will feature speeches by College senior and Black Student League President Robyn Kent and Communications graduate student Rhea Lewis, a member of the Black Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. Kent and Lewis will repeat each of the principles of Kwanzaa and "speak about how we can implement that principle in our lives," Dennis said. She added that the University's celebration of Kwanzaa in recent years has repeatedly been a spiritual as well as an educational experience. "Students have been so excited about [Kwanzaa] that they want to take this celebration home and introduce it to their families," she said. Although it is not presently practiced in all African-American homes, the celebration of Kwanzaa is increasing, Tillet said. "It's catching on," she said. "It's becoming more and more popular in African-American families. It's a growing trend." Dennis said celebrants of Kwanzaa at the University and worldwide appreciate its emphasis on the African-American experience, both spiritually and historically. "We want to affirm our history--not become subject to other people's definition of who we are as African-Americans," she added.

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