WHY I LIKE KWANZAA, FLAWS AND ALL

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:58:29 -0500

WHY I LIKE KWANZAA, FLAWS AND ALL

I've noticed in recent years, an attack on what is such a minor holiday, it seems incredibly unfair and misplaced. Kwanzaa, a 7 day holiday created in the 60's by a Dr Maulana Karenga, a Black Nationalist, and activist in the 60s during the height of the civil rights struggle. There is much criticism on the character of the creator himself, but I find that to be a petty and needless ad hominem attack. I would dare say, if we found out information on nearly any major figure in history, the positive things they left behind would be lost on the masses. I also find it convenient and cowardly to attack and mock a holiday created by us, for us, simply because it isn't already popular. I mean, really, Black people are already a minority in this country, consider the amount of people who would celebrate such a thing, and you have such an easy target that would never be able to do anything back, it's the method of a bully. I know being Black and proud of anything related to African ancestry is out of vogue in recent years, so the idea of making fun of the cufi wearers and dread heads seems just so easy right about now. How bold do you have to be to criticize a minority within a minority? Well, I'm no Black Nationalist. I've moved on from that kind of thing, but I do think Kwanzaa still holds up very well as holiday and I willl defend it. Let me tell you why.

1. IT WAS TRULY MADE WITH ME IN MIND

As a Black person in America, I share a common experience and descent with people all over the world, mostly in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. We call that as we call any group of people spread from one place, throughout the planet, the DIASPORA. The people of the AFRICAN diaspora share the common history of colonization, slavery, and discrimination on the negative side. On the positive side, we share genetic traits, diets, music, stories, and overall CULTURE. There are remnants of these things that are very common all over the world. We ALL have some version of CARNIVAL in one way or another. Many of us have some recipe with Beans and rice for the new year. All over the world lots of us find ourselves in the same barber shops, hair salons to deal with the hair type we got from our common ancestor.

Kwanzaa is an attempt to celebrate these commonalities. We all know that Africans living on the continent, Caribbean folks, black folks from Bahia to the bay, all have petty judgements about one another, sometimes, and by now, we have evolved into different cultures and traditions. But the other truth is, we have many more things in common. Just as with other holidays we celebrate what we have in common with all mankind, this holiday attempts to break down the walls amongst those of us, most recently out of Africa, with those still there. I know that most of my brothers and sisters from Dominican Republic, or Haiti, or even the Swahili speaking countries in East Africa (where the names come from) may not have heard of this holiday, but the notion that this is made to celebrate the things we DO share, I see as a good thing. It's an American holiday at present, but I would LOVE to see it spread worldwide. Personally, I CARE about what I celebrate. I like it to be aligned with what I believe. And this does it for me.

2. IT'S PROACTIVE

Every year, as each holiday rolls out, different groups complain about ones that may be historically offensive to them. When speaking of Black people in America, we often cite Columbus day, Thanksgiving, and Independence say, being that they celebrate genocide of some sort, or they didn't apply to our group when they were made. On one hand I find this to be reactive. Though these things may not apply to us, the people who created these days, may or may not be celebrating the negative effects. At some point, we have to move forward, and celebrate the positive aspects such as , AGAIN, togetherness, and community, which these all do, albeit for one subculture or another. So, to me, sitting around and pot shotting one group for celebrating something long past, and accusing them of being racist, simply for honoring their ancestors is trivial. On the other hand, the accusations ARE based in TRUTH. As a freethinking person, it would seem celebrating my ancestral past on the same day my ancestors may have been suffering… kinda bothers me. I tend to not speak on these days, although I used to. I'll let them have their day. I wanted to find something that I COULD celebrate, without the added baggage, something I didn't have any guilt about.

I do see many people saying "well, I just think it's a good thing to get with my family and celebrate"- as if there aren't hundreds of other days to do so. With Kwanzaa, Dr Karenga established a day that we could, that we decided on our own. The self determination aspect, known as Kujichagulia is actually THE MOST important to me. Many people go along with things because they've been around for centuries. This is our time to assert our own thing, and make a new tradition that WE made. One day it too will be around for centuries. You can make attacks against Dr Karenga himself all day, but the principles stand on their own. In hundreds or thousands of years, no one will remember him or his human shortcomings, they will remember the principles, because THEY stand the test of time.

3. IT SPEAKS BEYOND OUR BORDERS, OUR CULTURES, LANGUAGES, AND RELIGIONS

As mentioned before, it speaks to the African diaspora, and beyond all of our learned languages. Sure, Swahili is the adopted language of it, because it is the most widely spoken language on the continent, but it applies to African descendants who speak English, French, Portuguese, Dutch, and so on. All the creoles we speak make no difference during this time, it's for all of us. I love the idea that my Guyanese, Cuban, Haitian, Curacao people, and distant relatives from Brazil can acknowledge the place we all come from, some of us, literally from the same tribes at some point. But beyond that, look at the principles: Unity,Self determination,Collective work and responsibility, Cooperative economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith- what culture, European, Asian, or otherwise, wouldn’t appreciate these things? I don't think there is anything in there that anyone can disagree with in the letter of these things.

I am quite aware that Dr Karenga had originally wanted to shun European culture initially when creating the holiday, but in context of those times, that would've been quite understandable. People were reacting to the racism dealt to them at the time, and rejecting those who rejected them. But as time went on, that idea became less and less relative, and now it's even more so. It's a good thing he never put anything to do with color or creed in his description of the principles, because now, all that is left in the letter of the vision are the positive aspects that matter most. It's also a secular holiday so again, the many of us who have adopted Christianity, Islam,Unitarian, or Humanist ideals, we can all meet in one place and relate on what matters to us all.In full transparency, It should be noted that Dr Karenga is known to be outspoken against religion, particularly Christianity. Again though, the ideal is bigger than him, and many Christian and Muslim families embrace it in spite of that, and have intertwined their own ways of observing the holiday. I don't object to that.

4. THE PRINCIPLES ARE THE MOST RELEVANT TO THE COMMUNITY I'M A PART OF

All of the principles I listed above are things I hear my people complain about having a lack of in the Black community REPEATEDLY. Ok then, let's take some time to talk about them. Let's take a week. Let's take the time of year when we we're already used to taking the most time off from our daily jobs, at the slowest part of the year, when we’re already used to making resolutions making trips to see family. Let's do it THEN. It doesn't matter that Christians aren't sure WHEN Jesus was born, what's important is that they celebrate his birth, life, and the (gasp) PRINCIPLES he stood for, and represents, no? Same applies here for all of us who choose to do so with Kwanzaa. We set aside our own time to remember and focus on principles that we all believe to be important.

5. THERES NO REQUIREMENT FOR HOW STRICT YOU HAVE TO BE ABOUT IT

Yes, there are the symbols, and the rituals you can choose to get into, just as there are for countless other holidays, but who's counting and who's judging? I am not of the Akan tribe as far as I know, so NO, I will not be wearing Kente cloth. Excuse me for saying I don't even find it attractive. Also, I honor the part of the African Diaspora that I truly am from, so I don't feel the need to dress like anything different than I normally do. I don't burn a Kinara (even though I may if I feel like it), I don't even have any of the stuff to celebrate it at all. I simply address the principles of the day, and maybe have some discussions on it. I may even make more of an effort to practice those things, but I try to everyday anyway, so it's not a drastic issue for me personally. But it's about more than me. There may be people out there who aren't aware of certain aspects of our shared history, positive or negative.There are definitely children who can be taught about these things during that time. There are always those of us who lose focus of one or more of the principles, and setting aside some time to remember them and reset can't hurt.

I have also heard people say, "Kwanzaa isn't fun". Well, if we actually practiced many of the holidays we already practice to the STRICTEST letter of the law, I doubt any of them would be either. So, let your hair down. Make it how you want it to be- just be aware of where it started, and what it's ultimately for. I believe something good can come from it.

GOD SAID VIDEO- AN OPEN LETTER

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:22:04 -0400

So,

As you know, my albums are more than just love songs. I like to tell stories, and I like to cover issues that I think affect us all.

So I did. I wrote a song called GOD SAID after watching Pat Robertson declare that the earthquake in Haiti was because of a curse from God. After hearing A man named Rev Wiley say that he was praying for President Obama's death during the election (the prayer didn't work BTW). After hearing people fiddle around with the idea of a curse on Japan after their recent disaster. After hearing about Koran burnings and battles that seem to have peoples interpretations of religious texts at the foundation of them all.

I'm not one of those who claims that religion is the ONLY thing that causes all of the wars and bloodshed, but it has caused many. But not necessarily even the religion but the interpretetation of a few dangerous minds put into the wrong position of power or influence. I figured it was time to have a conversation with extremists like this, and put that kind of thinking in it's proper perspective.

Its just my opinion, but I suspect peace loving people from all walks of life will agree with me on SOME level.

I wanted to illustrate the vision I had for the song, and make it clear what I meant, because just off of the title, many didn't catch the satire. I contacted my longtime friend and incredible director, Devaughn Hughson to work with me on these visuals. We actually started out together when I was writing more screenplay than songs. Music became my format for expression wile he went further in film, but we always shared ideas in hopes to do something powerful together one day.

This is it, or definitely one of em.

Once we started combing and looking for footage that went with it, there was TOO MUCH (unfortunately, and this is further evidence that it needed to be made).

I'm extremely proud of the work we did on this. We made it for the internet, but somehow it got cleared to play on BET of all places. I'm proud of them for airing it. Stephen Hill has always been a supporter of mine from the first album (I can remember seeing this guy in the front row at SOB's singing ALL THE WORDS, and wondering who he was- it was him). They brought me in on this MUSIC MATTERS TOUR (ft Marsha Ambrosius and Melanie Fiona- check my tour dates, we're coming to you) and they have exposed me to their audience quite a bit. I'm grateful to them for that.

I'm sure there will be some disagreements. I put some of my more radical ideas in there, and there will probably be some disagreement about a few things here and there. That's ok with me, I'm all for civil discussion and people having their own ideas. I don't mean any harm, but they're my ideas (and the directors- we all pitched in). There will be places to have these discussions, but mostly, I tried to stick to the unifying point, which is anti extremism and fundamentalism. I mean well by it. I encourage THOUGHT, REASON, LOVE, and RESPECT. I hope that comes across at the very least.

Whenever something comes out that's a little more pointed than love songs, or whatever, I suppose they need to be prefaced with a little disclaimer. Heres mine.

Enjoy? yeah, you can and should

106 & Park airs at 630- cheers!

The House of ConDeucius- AD’s Blog

WHY I LIKE KWANZAA, FLAWS AND ALL

GOD SAID VIDEO- AN OPEN LETTER