On a recent Wednesday night – December 11 to be exact – families with young children gathered at Relics Event Center in southwest Springfield to celebrate Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa, which means “first fruits” in Swahili, is a non-religious festival observed from December 26-January 1. The African American and Pan-African holiday was created in 1966 by Maulana Ron Karenga and celebrates history, values, family, community and culture, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The Kwanzaa celebration, hosted by the nonprofit organization Ujima Language and Literacy, offered food from Mama G’s Kitchen complete with a variety of desserts. Kids colored pictures. There was an array of books, including some about Kwanzaa. Black, red and green balloons adorned a table at the front, and some framed a photo op in the back of the room that had gold and red cloths as a backdrop.
Those are the official colors of Kwanzaa: Black represents the people of African descent and unity; red represents the blood that was shed in the struggle of freedom and the people’s struggles; and green represents the fertile land, hope for the future and the abundance of possibilities the future holds.
Each table had a paper decoration of the Kinara, a candle holder with seven candles representing the Nguzo Saba or seven principles of Kwanzaa. Those are the minimum set of values by which African people are encouraged to live.
Before the festivities began, Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate, a professor at Missouri State University and the founder of Ujima Language and Literacy, and 10-year-old Isaiah Jackson shared with me those seven principles.
"Umoja means unity. Umoja. This means coming together and working as one big team. It reminds us to stay connected and help each other in our family, school and community.
Kujichagulia. Kujichagulia means self-determination. This means deciding for ourselves who we are and what we do...and what we want to do. It helps us be strong and proud of who we are and where we come from.
Ujima. Ujima means collective work and responsibility. This means working together to solve problems and make things better for everyone. It teaches us to care about others and help fix fix things in our community.
Ujamaa. Ujamaa means cooperative...economics. This means supporting each other's businesses so we can all grow and succeed. It reminds us to share and work together to make sure everyone has what they need.
Nia. Nia means purpose. Purpose means having a goal and working to make our community strong and great. It helps us remember to do things that help everyone, not just ourselves.
Kuumba. Kuumba means creativity. Creativity means using our imagination to make our community better. It inspires us to make beautiful things and come up with new ideas that help others.
And our last principle is Imani. Imani means faith. Faith means believing in ourselves, our families and our community. It gives us hope and courage to keep trying even when things get hard."
Many of the traditions around Kwanzaa are about learning, according to Thomas-Tate, "learning about ourselves, learning about our community and learning about our history – coming together with our community,” she said. “We do a lot of activities with kids to help educate kids about these principles and how to live out those principles in your daily life.”
After everyone ate and enjoyed conversation, Springfield City Councilwoman Monica Horton gathered the children around her and read a story about Kwanzaa. Then the celebration began.
There were drums and singing as Horton invited the kids and parents to join her at the table on which sat the Kinara and other symbols of Kwanzaa like Muhindi or corn, Mkeka or mat, Mazao or crops, Zawadi or the gifts and Kikombe cha Umoja or the unity cup.
Horton then sang a song highlighting the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Thomas-Tate said, the event’s host, Ujima, focuses on literacy with kids and families. It’s based on one of the principles of Kwanzaa, Ujima, which stands for collective work and responsibility.
“And I really believe that the work of educating our kids and connecting with community is a part of the Ujima model," she said, "and so we work hard to create community, to create family and create a passion for learning and literacy.”
When the evening was over, kids and families headed home, full of good food, and with knowledge of Kwanzaa and memories of a fun night spent together.
