The Greater Cleveland Kwanzaa Alliance is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and has a week's worth of Kwanzaa celebrations planned to kick off Thursday, the first day of the seven-day-long celebration.
Greater Cleveland Kwaznaa Alliance founder and co-director Paul Hill Jr. said the roots of the holiday stem from an agricultural society to honor a harvest, but in a post-industrial society like in Northeast Ohio today, to him the harvest is represented by children, who represent the future.
“There’s a question we always do as part of Kwanzaa,” Hill said. “’How are the children?’ Hopefully, we’ll be able to answer as a family, as a community, as a nation, we’ll be able to respond that the children are well because the children are what make us, as human beings, immortal. We live through our children. We have a generational responsibility to pass on these traditions.”
Kwanzaa is an African American end-of-year celebration created in 1966 to honor seven pillars of African culture, all of which revolve around building community: umoja or unity, kujichagulia or self-determination, ujima or collective work and responsibility, ujamaa or cooperation economics, nia or purpose, kuumba or creativity and Imani or faith.
The weeklong celebration starts on December 26 and ends on January 1.
The first of the alliance’s scheduled events takes place Thursday at the East Cleveland Public Library and has a theme of “Our Beginnings,” which will pay homage to the creation of the alliance in East Cleveland in 1984.
“We’re commemorating that tradition, those that were part of the early movement that are no longer here, recognizing them, paying homage to them,” Hill said. “East Cleveland is the most appropriate place for this celebration of 40 years of Greater Cleveland Kwanzaa Alliance to be.”
The week of celebrations will include music, speakers, food at some events, traditional lighting of candles and other traditional activities including a capoeira demonstration, which Hill said is a martial art often used as a dance in Angolan and Congolese culture.
Hill said all are welcome to attend the Kwanzaa celebrations — even those who would be celebrating Kwanzaa for the first time.
“The seven principles of Kwanzaa are good for not only for people of African ancestry, they’re good for all people,” Hill said. “Everyone is invited regardless of gender, ethnicity or whatever. Even though it’s an African American celebration, we welcome the total community.”
