growing up a Kwanzaa kid.

Every year, this time of year it’s time for me to come out as super-duper black and reveal to someone I celebrate Kwanzaa.

“Kwanzaa?”

“Yeah, Kwanzaa”

“I never met anyone who celebrated Kwanzaa before. I thought it was fake!”

Rinse, repeat.

I instantly become the Kwanzaa ambassador every holiday season but where I once was highly annoyed, I’ve began to carry it with a sense of pride for how unique it makes me. I’m a unicorn, a mythical creature, the rare proof that yes, people actually do celebrate Kwanzaa and were raised their whole lives doing so. In small pocket communities sure but we do exist I promise! Growing up, my mother would dress me up in the finest African print and mudcloth and we’d attend local Brooklyn community celebrations together. I’d see the same families and kids every year. Kids, who had earthy, shea butter & granola parents who were also fiercely adamant about instilling black education and culture in their children by any means. We’d run around and play, dance to the samba and djembe drum performances, get our face painted, volunteer in the fashion shows and ate real good. Once the week of festivities were finished I wouldn’t see them again until the next year unless at a Juneteenth street festival somewhere in between. Outside of the magical holiday season, even in knowing my my community was out there I still felt like the only kid in the world that celebrated Kwanzaa. The rest of the 358 days of the year I was left all on my lonesome to answer all the hard hitting questions amongst my school peers and and clueless adults.

Is it like a black Hanukkah ?
Do you get gifts everyday?
Isn’t it just some made up holiday?
Did you ever get sad about never having celebrated Christmas?

I know some of you reading have similar questions to so let me lay it all out. Kwanzaa is a non-religious Black American, seven day-event holiday officialized in 1966. It was an organized effort during the Civil Right era to give black children an opportunity to participate in winter holiday excitement with something connect us to our West African roots, without families succumbing to the weight of hyper consumerist capitalism and a year long of historical white traditions. Each day there is a significant principle to incorporate into your day.

Kwanzaa simply is something for black people to have. Many do credit Dr. Karenga for having been the creator of Kwanzaa (like the documentary on Youtube “The Black Candle” which I love and recommend otherwise) which has led to controversy over the years. Karenga was said to be charged for being an abuser in 1971. He served time only to be hailed and praised for by the time he was released. A not at all rare occurrence with famous/popular men in our society. Also, there’s the conspiracies of him working along — agents against the Black Panthers. The rabbit hole goes deep. I personally do not credit him and have side-eyed some of the community that chooses to overlook this daunting elephant in the room just to upkeep the good name of Kwanzaa. Especially when, there’s a person, a woman who has done the extensive ground work of spreading the meaning of Kwanzaa and she goes unnamed.

Let’s talk about Mama Sister Makinya, Queen Mother of Kwanzaa

It is true. Karenga did come up with the concept of a black holiday but it was Makinya Sibeko Kouate who, as women do, brought the holiday alive.

Makinya Sibeko Kouate from South Berkley, California is named the Mother Queen of Kwanzaa. Originally named Harriet Smith she became an educator, community activist against police brutality, a reporter for California Voice, the oldest black newspaper in the state. She also became the first student body president Peralta Community College and one of the first ever air traffic controller in Alameda. She hosted the first ever Community Kwanzaa Celebration ceremony in 1967 in her home. Sister Makinya traveled 37 American states, 13 African nations, Mexico and regions in Europe to spread her knowledge of the African Diaspora and Kwanzaa holiday. Koute is the descendant of enslaved people of Virginia as well as of Madagascar and Tanzania ancestry, She has honored her community by committing herself to the ground work in nurturing the holiday. All of this only scratches the surface of her long life legacy. On the 100th anniversary of YWCA celebration she was honored by the UN Commission as The Global Community Visionary. Sister Makinya became an ancestor in 2017 but continues to foster the tradition of Kwanzaa through spirit.

For too long her name has been buried and it’s only this year where I’ve seen more and more people mention her as the major influence of Kwanzaa. Better late than never.

So is Kwanzaa like a black Hanukkah? I mean they’re both holidays that extend several days. There’s the candles and instead of a candelabrum there’s an kinara but other than that, no. It’s not the same holiday but black. Two different cultures with much different insights, traditions and values.

Do you get gifts everyday? The point of the holiday is to be able to create fun and tradition without the ritual of excessive buying at it’s base. Maybe someone will buy a member something meaningful for another person but it’s not seen as mandatory as it is for Christmas. No one would get gifts all seven days and it’s chill. It’s about being together.

Isn’t it just some made up holiday? All holidays are made up. Kwanzaa is just the youngest.

Were you ever sad about not celebrating Kwanzaa? Yeah, for sure when I was younger. I was a child coming back to school after holiday vacation seeing literally every single other kid would show off their expensive Christmas gifts. Naturally, a child will feel left out. As a kid, I couldn’t yet process the spiritual and emotional importance of a holiday like Kwanzaa. I just thought I was boring and everyone was having the time of their lives. As a teen, my friends referred to it as the “cheap ass holiday” which did result into some arguments. Hey, I had to defend my honor. Once I was an adult, I understood the value of a holiday like Kwanzaa and began to relish in how much I stood out. I also love shocking people in telling them I’ve never celebrated Christmas before. People always get so sad lmao.

So yes, I’m a Kwanzaa kid through and through. I was raised on very afro-centric ideals and perspectives and I do believe it benefitted me. I am person with a strong pride in my blackness and the Diaspora, I have great fascination for history and education and other cultural traditions world wide. It has built a firm foundation underneath me. It has planted the seed of purpose and community in me. It has given me the energy of empathy, unity and open-mindedness that travels with me everywhere I go.

Sources Articles:
update.lib.berkeley.edu/2024/10/28/power-to-the-students-and-black-power-to-black-students-the-life-and-legacy-of-sister-makinya-sibeko-kouate/

postnewsgroup.com/sister-makinya-sibeko-kouate-queen-mother-of-kwanzaa-90/

jpanafrican.org/docs/vol10no3/10.3-4-Makinya.pdf