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Back in the 80's, I'd hear about Kwanzaa fairly often. It wasn't unusual for it to be referenced on television and to see it in the greeting cards section.
I bet it's been several years since the last time I've heard the word Kwanzaa verbalized or have seen it referenced.
Has it fallen out with black people or has the media lost interest in it?
IMO it is actually much more popular than it was in the 80s.
I am not religious but usually celebrate Christmas out of custom. My spouse is religious but chooses not to celebrate Christmas due to its focus on materialism and instead he celebrates Kwanzaa.
I always go to at least once big Kwanzaa event in the past few years.
But I will note that it is not something that I would celebrate if it were not for my spouse. But through going to events, I have discovered that a large amount of black Americans will attend a Kwanzaa event and especially so in majority black cities. I usually go to Detroit for Kwanzaa events (I live in NW OH and we do have some but they are not as good as the ones in Detroit IMO). I lived in metro Atlanta previously and have gone to a lot of Kwanzaa celebrations there.
I honestly don't know a single African or AA, who celebrate Kwanzaa. I am under the guis Ethan the people who started it are black nationalists and pan-Africans and I hate any sort of
racial nationalism and dislike nationalism in general, because I like diverse settings (religiously, ethnically, racially etc.)
IMO it is actually much more popular than it was in the 80s.
I am not religious but usually celebrate Christmas out of custom. My spouse is religious but chooses not to celebrate Christmas due to its focus on materialism and instead he celebrates Kwanzaa.
I always go to at least once big Kwanzaa event in the past few years.
But I will note that it is not something that I would celebrate if it were not for my spouse. But through going to events, I have discovered that a large amount of black Americans will attend a Kwanzaa event and especially so in majority black cities. I usually go to Detroit for Kwanzaa events (I live in NW OH and we do have some but they are not as good as the ones in Detroit IMO). I lived in metro Atlanta previously and have gone to a lot of Kwanzaa celebrations there.
Did you attend an Afrocentric school K-12? The few ones that adherents I've met tend to be products of Afrocentric education. I attend the occasional Kwanzaa festival, but primarily as a community event, not because I actually observe the holiday.
I honestly don't know a single African or AA, who celebrate Kwanzaa. I am under the guis Ethan the people who started it are black nationalists and pan-Africans and I hate any sort of
racial nationalism and dislike nationalism in general, because I like diverse settings (religiously, ethnically, racially etc.)
This is also very true in regards to the bold. The reason why I believe it is growing is that the ideas of black nationalism are growing in America. My spouse is a pseudo-black nationalist person IMO. I also do not like race nationalism because it can easily turn into racism and xenophobia, but I don't have a problem with cultural celebrations that lack diversity, that is the point really of cultural celebrations.
On Kwanzaa itself, I agree with another poster that it has no bearing on the actual culture of West Africans of which black Americans are descended, but I do like that it has a positive message and doesn't put a negative spin on "African-ness."
The celebrations are always neutral that I have attended and not overly political (FWIW in Atlanta they were usually sponsored by some politician). Most of the celebrations I have attended have been at black history museums or cultural centers and they always have some great drumming and dancing, they are venues for vendors to sell good related to black American history, art, fashion, food, etc. So they do not have any sort of nationalist tone though the holiday itself still garners support IMO from those who are much more black nationalist minded and pan African minded.
I honestly don't know a single African or AA, who celebrate Kwanzaa. I am under the guis Ethan the people who started it are black nationalists and pan-Africans and I hate any sort of
racial nationalism and dislike nationalism in general, because I like diverse settings (religiously, ethnically, racially etc.)
The guy who invented it was part of the Black Power movement in the 1960s. He was also a professor. Maulana Karenga. I don't think most people know where it originated. I'm not into the racial nationalism either.
I do have a distrust for those who feel it necessary to blindly criticize Kwanzaa. I'm not into Kwanzaa. Not interested in it. I do considered that there are many who will hate on anything having to do with Black Americans. Kwanzaa dying out doesn't bother me. It is the ignorant that I worry about.
The guy who invented it was part of the Black Power movement in the 1960s. He was also a professor. Maulana Karenga. I don't think most people know where it originated. I'm not into the racial nationalism either.
I do have a distrust for those who feel it necessary to blindly criticize Kwanzaa. I'm not into Kwanzaa. Not interested in it. I do considered that there are many who will hate on anything having to do with Black Americans. Kwanzaa dying out doesn't bother me. It is the ignorant that I worry about.
I would like to have this conversation, but fear this is not the place.
Did you attend an Afrocentric school K-12? The few ones that adherents I've met tend to be products of Afrocentric education. I attend the occasional Kwanzaa festival, but primarily as a community event, not because I actually observe the holiday.
No. I do not "believe" in Afrocentric education. I believe in classical holistic education.
I have attended Kwanzaa celebrations at churches, museums, and major universities before and have done the same as you in regards to the bold. I have noticed that more and more people come to the festivals and many attend every day of Kwanzaa.
My spouse also did not attend an Afrocentric school and he is the one who decided he wanted to celebrate Kwanzaa at home because of his dislike for Christmas. We both went to traditional public schools.
Didn't it come around the advent of PC in America?
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