Last year as
I spiraled into darkness anticipating a second Trump presidency, I posted an
article and attending interview with me about Kwanzaa, the African American
Festival of the First Fruits. At that time I wrote ...
Nevertheless, the festival of the
harvest morphs seamlessly into a celebration of
birth (of Christ), of the miracle of the Virgen de
Guadalupe, of the rededication
of the desecrated temple (Hanukkah) and a pagan new year
(solstice), i.e., the transit
from past to future. For many these celebrations are not
religious at all, but chances
to bask in the company of family and
loved ones as seasons change and the calendar flips.[1]
I want to
circle back and relate Kwanzaa to Hanukkah now. Hanukkah commemorates events
following the Hebrew victory over the Syrians and the liberation of the Second
Jewish Temple at Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE. As worshippers prepared to
relight the candelabrum (menorah) at the alter they discovered that there was only
enough oil to light it for one day. However, once lit the flame burned for
eight days until the faithful were able to procure the oil needed to keep it
going. This was a miracle. After eight
days the lights were still on! The festival of Hanukkah, the “dedication,” was
born. Alternatively known as the “Festival of the Lights,” it is celebrated for
eight days.
The Jews of
the 2nd century BCE were opposing the imposition of Syrian culture and religion
and forced assimilation on the Jewish people. In a parallel fashion Kwanzaa was
born in the 1960s by Black nationalist in Los Angeles after the Watts Rebellion
of 1965. Recalling my post last year, Kwanzaa “was born in the spirit of Black
Power, and a yearning by Black people to create our own value system and
institutions, because America was failing to assimilate us.”[2]
There ARE
differences between the two holidays. Judaism had already existed for more than
3,000, Kwanzaa years when the insurrection against Syrian assimilation
occurred. The Jews were a strong people, proud of an already ancient heritage.
In contrast
Black Americans in the 1960s were a people thrown together in slavery from all
over West Africa. After slavery we suffered the traumatic effects of Jim Crow
segregation and ghettoization in the urban setting. The racial rebellions of
the 1960s were sparked by the confluence of segregation, lack of opportunity
and over policing of urban ghettos against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.
Ron Karenga
was foremost among activists in Los Angeles who formed the Black nationalist US
organization after the Watts rebellion of 1965. Believing that the oppression
of Black people required solutions beyond the integrationist/assimilationist program
of the civil rights movement, US devised a cultural project arguing that the
advancement of Black people could never be realized by integration into the
institutions of White America.
Kwanzaa arose
from the Afrocentric philosophy of Kawaida (the “norm” in Swahili) which was
constructed by the US organization. Dubbed the “Festival of the First Fruits” and
observed December 26 – January 1, Kwanzaa begins as a celebration of the
harvest and ends with resolutions for the year to come.
Both Kwanzaa
and Hanukkah are cultural projects against forced assimilation. Each evolved
after periods of violent conflict between the oppressor and the oppressed. While
Hanukkah is over 5,000 years old, Kwanzaa is 59 years old this year. But
Kwanzaa was born in the era when Black Americans were looking inward, finding
themselves and on the way to transforming themselves into African Americans.
As American progressives
congeal around a project of multiracial democracy with recognition of our
national subcultures centered, and a powerful Black presence at its core, the significance
of Kwanzaa in the middle of our holiday season has never been more profound.
Inspired by
our Jewish comrades who keep the menorah burning in ancient Jerusalem, events
over these last few months show that the lights of the American left are still
on![3] And drawing upon the
spirit of Kwanzaa, we are tapping the fruits of the early resistance and resolving
to keep fighting back in the new year.
[1]
Vernon Damani Johnson, “Kwanzaa 2024: Progressive Holiday Meditations in the
Time of Trump,”
[3] Examples
beginning in the fall include the public opposition to National Guard
deployment in US cities; sweeping victories of Democrats in the November
elections as voters perceived that Trump has failed them on the affordability
issue; Marjorie Taylor Green’s vocal criticism of Trump over the slow release of
the Eppstein files and her dramatic decision to disavow MAGA and not run for
re-election; Indiana Republicans vote against redistricting to suit Trump
electoral aims, etc., etc.
