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Central Valley Kwanzaa Celebrations ~ "In the Greatest Garden of the World"
In the heart of the 7th largest agriculture economy in America, some people of African ancestry refuse to celebrate Kwanzaa, yet are not happy about educating the entire community about our "California Grown" holiday. 2013 is a historic banner year for the California Black Agriculture Working Group. We have come a long way and have a clear path to expand participation by people of African ancestry throughout the #1 Agriculture region on earth. Our 7 day celebration ends this special 50th Anniversary of PanAfricanism and African Renaissance... clearly the deeper meaning and broader celebration is not for everybody... seen...
The founder of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga answers the question and many more... http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org
Can people who are not of African descent participate in Kwanzaa activities?
Kwanzaa is clearly an African holiday created for African peoples. But other people can and do celebrate it, just like other people participate in Cinco de Mayo besides Mexicans; Chinese New Year besides Chinese; Native American pow wows besides Native Americans.
The question is, under what circumstances? There are both communal and public celebrations. One can properly hold a communal celebration dedicated essentially to community persons. But in a public context, say public school or college, we can properly have public celebrations which include others.
How this is done depends on particular circumstances. But in any case, particular people should always be in control of and conduct their own celebrations. Audience attendance is one thing; conducting a ritual is another.
Any particular message that is good for a particular people, if it is human in its content and ethical in its grounding, speaks not just to that people, it speaks to the world.
The principles of Kwanzaa and the message of Kwanzaa has a universal message for all people of good will. It is rooted in African culture, and we speak as Africans must speak, not just to ourselves, but to the world.
This continues our tradition of speaking our own special cultural truth and making our own unique contribution to the forward flow of human history.
Can people who are not of African descent participate in Kwanzaa activities?
Kwanzaa is clearly an African holiday created for African peoples. But other people can and do celebrate it, just like other people participate in Cinco de Mayo besides Mexicans; Chinese New Year besides Chinese; Native American pow wows besides Native Americans.
The question is, under what circumstances? There are both communal and public celebrations. One can properly hold a communal celebration dedicated essentially to community persons. But in a public context, say public school or college, we can properly have public celebrations which include others.
How this is done depends on particular circumstances. But in any case, particular people should always be in control of and conduct their own celebrations. Audience attendance is one thing; conducting a ritual is another.
Any particular message that is good for a particular people, if it is human in its content and ethical in its grounding, speaks not just to that people, it speaks to the world.
The principles of Kwanzaa and the message of Kwanzaa has a universal message for all people of good will. It is rooted in African culture, and we speak as Africans must speak, not just to ourselves, but to the world.
This continues our tradition of speaking our own special cultural truth and making our own unique contribution to the forward flow of human history.
For more information:
http://summits.au.int/50th/21stsummit/news...
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