Friday, December 26, 2003

Kwanzaa Cop Out Unveiled

The New York Times publishes an op-ed written by Debra J. Dickerson which looks at the rise of Kwanzaa as a competing holiday for Christmas for American Blacks.  The op-ed is entitled “A Case of the Kwanzaa Blues."

Dickerson’s piece is an open eyed look at this “holiday,” invented in 1966 by one Dr. Maulana Karenga.  Here are some quotes from Dickerson.

"Being black in December is almost as exhausting as being so in February, when it’s taken for granted that you’ll spearhead the office Black History Month extravaganza. What’s worse are those things considered a barometer of your blackness — things like hair straightening, Clarence Thomas and, of course, Kwanzaa."

"Still, it pains me that we need to look outside our American experience for spiritual and cultural sustenance. With all due respect to those who celebrate it, Kwanzaa feels like a cop-out. Just as drugs are for those who can’t handle reality, isn’t Kwanzaa for those who can’t handle knowing that our ancestors fueled themselves with Western ideals, Christianity uppermost among them?"

"More important, insofar as Kwanzaa negates the quintessential Americanness of the slave-descended, it is an affront to the heroism and enunciated goals of our oppressed ancestors. They demanded to be considered, and treated, as Americans, not as Africans."

The piece is well worth reading.

Posted by John Venlet on 12/26 at 05:58 AM
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