Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My family started celebrating Kwanzaa in the 1980's. We did not give up Christmas for Kwanzaa. Both of my parents graduated from HBCU's so this may have introduced them to holiday. I have quite a few family members from coast to coast that celebrate the holiday and most of them have HBCU's in common. My wife and I have a Christmas brunch every year followed by a Kwanzaa celebration at my parents house sometime between December 26th and 31st. I live in Pittsburgh and there are quite a few Kwanzaa festivals throughout the Christmas holiday season. What's not to love about it?
Juneteenth by its very nature is bound to be texas-centric.
I live in Ohio and we have a Juneteenth celebration. I had never heard of it until I was older and became a voracious reader of all things "black history." We never had Juneteenth celebrations where I'm from until the past 10 years or so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostrider275452
It is a discriminatory holiday only blacks can celebrate, and it was invented because Christmas was considered "too white" From wiki...
White people can celebrate Kwanzaa
All of the festivals I've been to make it a point to cover the fact that Kwanzaa is not "just" for black people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wpipkins2
My family started celebrating Kwanzaa in the 1980's. We did not give up Christmas for Kwanzaa. Both of my parents graduated from HBCU's so this may have introduced them to holiday. I have quite a few family members from coast to coast that celebrate the holiday and most of them have HBCU's in common. My wife and I have a Christmas brunch every year followed by a Kwanzaa celebration at my parents house sometime between December 26th and 31st. I live in Pittsburgh and there are quite a few Kwanzaa festivals throughout the Christmas holiday season. What's not to love about it?
I heard of Kwanzaa when I was a child. I have a few older Pan African/nationalist minded relatives (some were original BPP members). However, I agree that it is commonly celebrated by HBCU alumni. Both I and my husband are HBCU alumni as well.
And for the poster who asked about afrocentric education, HBCUs are not afrocentric in curriculum.
Nothing stops non-blacks from celebrating Kwanzaa, regardless of the original reason for the founding. Much like the original founding tradition/rules for certain fraternities as an example (which excluded blacks and other minorities) doesn't prevent non-whites from joining those fraternities today. I know whites who celebrate Kwanzaa.
Hell, I don't know any blacks that even mention Kwanza let alone celebrate it, as for whites, they mostly forgot about it shortly after they heard about it.
Thinking on my comment, I find black nationalism weird and stupid, but Pan-Africanist to me is totally fine as long as it is inclusive and includes Indian,White and North Africans as well as other African peoples.
Hell, I don't know any blacks that even mention Kwanza let alone celebrate it, as for whites, they mostly forgot about it shortly after they heard about it.
Are you in the Pittsburgh area (reference to "Steeler Nation" on your posts)?
If so, you would be able to attend some Kwanzaa celebrations. They really are pretty nice and fun.
I know white people who aren't all that put off by black cultural events/activities and they have attended Kwanzaa and not forgotten about it. A good friend of mine was encouraged to learn African dance due to one of the events she went to. The dancing and drumming at all the events I go to are always a highlight.
Thinking on my comment, I find black nationalism weird and stupid, but Pan-Africanist to me is totally fine as long as it is inclusive and includes Indian,White and North Africans as well as other African peoples.
Pan-Africanism is about the unity/solidarity of all people of African descent so by nature would exclude Indians of Indian/Asian descent and whites of European descent. North Africans are of African descent so are included in Pan-Africanism.
On black nationalism, I don't find it weird or stupid, but I do think it is contrary to real life. As black Americans we will never have a specific "black nation." But I understand the history of black nationalism in this country and why it is attractive to many black Americans.
At its core it is about self-determination and self-reliance and IMO those are good things to be concerned with from an individual or community perspective, but too many black nationalist take on a separatist and racist stance on the social construct of "race" in America and espouse a message of the inferiority of whites as a whole. I don't agree with any sort of supposed superiority/inferiority of any group based on skin color as that is not something all that important in regards to humanity itself IMO.
I live in Ohio and we have a Juneteenth celebration. I had never heard of it until I was older and became a voracious reader of all things "black history." We never had Juneteenth celebrations where I'm from until the past 10 years or so.
My mother introduced us to Juneteenth growing up in NYC. There are a few community commemorations of Juneteenth in NYC that I know about. Here's one such annual celebration: juneteenth
As a white person, maybe my opinion doesn't count for much.
Don't listen to anyone who tells you that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
