Kwanzaa time is here
It's a happy time of year
To celebrate
Everything that we've done great
Everything that we've done great
The Nguzo Saba
Loving our Mamas and Babas
Taking a firm stand
Struggling hand in hand
Kwanzaa time is here
It's a happy time of year
To celebrate
Everything that we've done great
Kwanzaa time is here...
It took me a few minutes to recall those words that I used to sing as a child with my schoolmates on every day of December (yes, somehow we were still in school on December 26) for 7 consecutive years. It's been awhile since I officially celebrated Kwanzaa...
Recently, there's been some talk around the global town that Kwanzaa shouldn't be celebrated because of the horrible crimes committed by its founder. While I do understand these sentiments, I don't connect Kwanzaa with Maulana Karenga. In fact, I had to go look up his name to finish that last sentence.
As regular Random Readers know, I attended a Pan-Africanist elementary school. Every year, my schoolmates (who were my extended family) and our friends and families would gather together to celebrate Kwanzaa. We performed African dances, skits, fashion shows, etc. around the Bay Area for various audiences - from senior citizens to Stanford University students. Each year, I enjoyed, and looked forward to, the rituals and traditions of the holiday.
However, as I grew older and my mom became more disillusioned with the Black Nationalist Movement because of the shadiness of the adults involved, she began distancing us from that community. As a child, I didn't understand why. I was angry that I lost what little bit of sense of family that I had. After my parents divorced and my dad moved from the Bay Area to Atlanta, GA, my mom essentially raised me as a single parent. Most of our blood relatives were over 3,000 miles away. That sense of inter-connectedness that I was taught was meaningful for me. I would probably be a completely different person without that foundation. I was my mother's only child, but I had over 50 brothers and sisters, 40+ sets of parents and tens of aunts and uncles. At the time, I resented being raised by a village. How can I get into some trouble (aka "have fun") if all eyes are on me at all times? After I graduated from my elementary school and moved over to public school, I finally tasted some of the craved autonomy and...it's completely overrated.
So that's what Kwanzaa means to me.
But what is Kwanzaa?
Here's a quote that beautifully defines Kwanzaa from "12 Kwanzaa Quotes To Celebrate This Magical Time Of Year":
"Kwanzaa isn't a replacement for Christmas or even Hanukkah. Kwanzaa has nothing to do with religion and while some may twist it to be political, in its nature it is not. Kwanzaa is not the tool of its creator. Kwanzaa has a life of its own. Kwanzaa is about the spirit of people -- all people regardless of color or race. Kwanzaa is a holiday of the human spirit -- not the divine. The two were meant to co-exist peacefully." ~ Author Unknown
Of the seven principles of the Nguzo Saba, this is one of my favorites because I'm all about harnassing the collective power of money to use for the good of our community. I define community as any group of which I'm a member: my social community, my racial community, my human community, my living community and so on. Celebrating Kwanzaa and the principles isn't, and doesn't have to be, limited to just African-Americans but I do have a wish that we can apply these principles to progress our cultural group.
If "Cooperative Economics" sounds like socialism to you, then you're not too far off the mark. Ujamaa is about pooling money and resources together to benefit the community. As anyone who has taken a high school government or a history class knows, government-enforced socialism taken to the extreme can lead to disastrous results. But "Cooperative Economics" practiced of a people's own free will can work beautifully. Even within a capitalistic society. So I tend to think of Ujamaa as building wealth together rather than sharing wealth equally regardless of the effort put in to building the wealth.
This concept speaks to African-Americans' original collectivist bent. We come from peoples who believed in communal living, in sharing the wealth...and it shows in our culture. Look at what we do with our elderly. I volunteer in senior citizen homes and, for the most part...we ain't there. Instead of dropping our parents and grandparents off in a facility, we take them in and care for them ourselves. They become a part of our nuclear family. Regardless of how we feel about them. Just look at our President as an example. When the Obamas moved into the White House, did they hire a nanny? No. They brought Michelle's mother in to help take care of Sasha and Malia. But that's probably just what they told her. You better believe that was also a way for them to keep their eye on Mama Robinson.
I was fortunate enough to have grown up with my grandmother. She moved in with us when I was 13 years old, left and then came back for good. Before moving in with us, she lived in Tennessee and I only visited her once or twice a year. Having her with me throughout high school and most of college was a blessing. She kept me rooted in a way that I wouldn't have been if not for her presence. Because of the tough economy, three generations of us are still pooling our resources together to do more than get by. My maternal side of the family practices "Cooperative Economics" all of the time. We take in each other's children if they aren't able to care for them for some reason. That's definitely spreading the financial responsibilities around. And we all benefit as a family. I can contrast this with my paternal side of the family that is very go-for-self. They are all over-achievers. And they have to be. Because they can rarely count on each other to help. And it shows in their health issues (which are probably a result of stress) and how hard it is to get us all together for a family reunion. But that's another story...
My point is that going it alone is overrated. And impossible. Show me a person who "pulled him/herself up by bootstraps" and I will show you someone else who helped that person somewhere in life. That "individualistic" philosophy is preached in America but is rarely practiced by any successful individual or group. We only have to look to other ethnic minorities who migrated to America to see how "Cooperative Economics" works well. And until we grasp this concept, we won't be able to progress.
I just read an interesting article about how Ujamaa is practiced in the hip-hop community. I don't know about you, but when I think of hip-hop, "Cooperative Economics" isn't the first concept that springs to my mind. But after some thought, I realized that it is practiced quite frequently by rappers:
[T]hose who are involved in the business end of hip-hop seem to be following in Gordy’s footsteps ... These present-day entrepreneurs are not just artists, they are part owners of the labels and they produce and create distribution deals that help them build and accumulate wealth. ... The real story is who these artists are and their ability to build viable, successful businesses with friends and family as supporters. The careers of Russell Simmons and Jay-Z illustrate this point. Each has started a small business that now includes recording labels, soft drink products, and clothing lines. Russell Simmons was president of Def Jam, perhaps the most well known if not most successful hip-hop label. Simmons is currently president of Rush communications. ... Simmons has sold off his interest in many of his companies for an estimated $400 million. It is said that Simmons is more successful than Barry Gordy was during his tenure in the music industry.
Simmons is also credited with creating the plan for business diversification that all hip—hop moguls have tried to emulate. None have followed in Simmons’ footsteps better than Jay-Z. Roc-A-Fella Records is one of the largest U.S. hip hop/rap record labels... The group could not secure a record deal for Jay-Z and began Roc-A-Fella out of frustration. The group began pressing records, selling them out of their trunks and requesting time on local radio. From that, Roc–A-Fella branched into other ventures, which included Rocawear clothing company; Roc4Kids, a community outreach program; and other ventures which include producing movies. Earlier this year, Jay-Z was named president and CEO of Def Jam Records and retained control of Roc-A-Fella. Jay-Z is one of the few African-American record label executives.
Ujamaa speaks to the ability to build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. A deeper exploration of Ujamaa teaches that within our immediate network of family and friends, someone has the ability to create businesses that will comfort, feed, clothe, entertain and house millions. - LaDonna Redmond, "Ujamaa, The Cooperative Economics of Hip-Hop"
There are more examples in the entertainment industry of what we can do when we pool our resources together: the dynamically succeessful duo Oprah Winfrey & Tyler Perry and triple threat trio Will Smith, Jada Pinkett & Jay-Z.
And by "resources", I don't mean just money. Let's face it, in these dire economic times many of us can't afford to scrape together an extra nickel to rub up against someone else's scraped-up nickel. But we may know somebody who knows somebody who...you get the picture. Social and professional business contacts are most definitely a valuable resource. If you know someone who can help someone else out, then by all means - introduce them! Don't hoard your circle. Most likely, others will appreciate this and return the favor. The very long list of popular social networking sites attest to how much people value enlarging and maximizing their social circles. Increasing your circle not only leads to great individual opportunities like jobs, growing businesses, and meeting potential romantic mates but also leads to an increased sense of community. We become invested in each other. And now we all care more about one another's well-being. When that happens, we're less likely to disrespect each other. Ujamaa can lower the crime in our communities, ya'll.
One of the ways I learn how valuable it is to share resources is by working on Organizing For America (formerly Obama For America). Little known secret: President Obama is cheap. While other presidential candidates were hooking their staff and volunteers up with the plushest of offices, we were told to make deals with local organizations, businesses and Obama supporters to get our hands on necessities such as housing, food, office space & equipment, meeting space, etc. As a community organizer, Barack Obama learned how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents. So that's what his organization trained us to do.
It was eye-opening to learn how much we can attain by figuring out who can give what. What many people don't know is that in political campaigning (or for any organization or business), in-kind donations are preferable to money donations. For example, if someone handed me a check for $20, I had to report and submit that check to Obama For America headquarters in Chicago, which was then pooled with other donations and most likely spent on national activities like commercials, renting townhall spaces, etc., which is a great use of the money. However, what about what we need on the ground? We would much prefer for that person to spend the $20 to feed our volunteers. Or we'd rather you bring an old printer to our campaign office.
We still use this concept for Organizing For America. A couple of weeks ago, we organized a volunteer training event at the local library. There was a mix-up that led to us not having the space in time for our scheduled event. Well, at the last minute, one of the volunteers "donated" the use of her office building where she works. It's a beautiful space for an organizational meeting. Now, we use that space regularly for events.
That's "Cooperative Economics". That's Ujamaa.
So maybe the question isn't "Should We Celebrate Kwanzaa?", but rather "How Do We Already Celebrate Kwanzaa In Our Everyday Lives Without Even Knowing It?"
Check out this trailer for "The Black Candle":
Narrated by Maya Angelou and directed by M.K. Asante, Jr., The Black Candle is a landmark, vibrant documentary that uses Kwanzaa as a vehicle to explore and celebrate the African-American experience.
A film by award-winning author and filmmaker M.K. Asante, Jr., The Black Candle is an extraordinary, inspirational story about the struggle and triumph of African-American family, community, and culture.
A longer trailer.
Posts
