The Conspiracy to Kill Kwanzaa
DURHAM Every year it happens, just like clockwork. There is an orchestrated effort to diss the African American celebration of Kwanzaa. Those who don’t know the difference between Kente cloth from gang gear, all of a sudden become experts ON the Black experience.
Kwanzaa , comes from the Swahili word meaning “first fruits” and is a seven day celebration of principles called the Nguzo Saba introduced by Dr Maulana Karenga in 1966, according to Africana edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Every December some folks pop out of the woodwork by either claiming that Kwanzaa is a “fake holiday,” or just plain “un-American.” The most common practice is to discredit the creator, Karenga, instead of seeing the beauty of the creation even though the same people celebrate President’s Day even though many of the so-called founding fathers were “slave owners” with no reservations.
What must be understood is that the real target is not Kwanzaa but black culture in general, as many do not want African Americans to discover what Dr. GM James called our “Stolen Legacy.”
Black culture has been plotted against since pre- African slave trade days when the European colonizers banned the drum to prevent cultural continuity and communication.
During the 60’s grant money from philanthropic organizations such as the Ford Foundation was used to undermine the influence of the Black Power Movement. (Read Robert W. Allen’s book, Black Awakening in Capitalist America) Also, according to Noliwe Rooks in her work , White Money Black Power the 30 pieces of silver were also used to try to take the “black” out of the academic black studies programs in the 70’s.
Coincidently, or not, during the 70’s Hollywood replaced the strong militant Black male image with Blaxploitation flicks such as “Superfly” so that the youth began to want to be pimps instead of revolutionaries like Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party.’
The same method was used during the late 80’s as the Pro Black Hip Hop of groups such as Public Enemy and X-Clan was almost entirely replaced by ‘gangsta rap” by 1993.
Even today, Kwanzaa is used by white mega corporations to sell everything from T-shirts to tea cups. And companies which have, historically not been exactly, African American friendly see no contradiction in priding themselves as “proud sponsors of Kwanzaa.”
This year, across the country we must flip the script. It is time for us to reclaim our culture, not only as a cause for celebration once a year but as a tool for social, political and economic empowerment year round. And most importantly, to serve as an alternative to the fabricated “street culture” that many of our young people have embraced.( Read Kawaida Theory by Maulana Karenga.)
As we look towards the difficult times we will face, politically, in 2025, Umoja (unity) may just be the thing to save us.
Min. Paul Scott is Minister of Information of the Durham NC based Black Hoodie Brigade. He can be reached at (919) 972–8305 minpaulscott@yahoo.com X/Twitter @truthminista
