My family doesn’t celebrate Kwanzaa, and I think I know why
When I was younger, watching the Proud Family every week was required viewing. In one episode, the Proud Family celebrated Kwanzaa. I remember the episode being a reminder to black families that reinforcing black community building was vital for continued growth. The episode also gave non-black families a view into an important black holiday.
While Disney did give a wonderful sneak peek to the black experience, I knew it wasn’t mines. As a child, I didn’t know that Kwanzaa was celebrated by many black families. However, I did know the Proud Family proudly celebrated it.
In 1966, Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and Chairman of Black Studies at California State University, started Kwanzaa. Dr. Karenga wanted to find ways to build black communities after the Watts Riots in Los Angeles from August 11–16, 1965. As expected, Kwanzaa spoke mostly to the urban black experience in America.
Throughout middle and high school, no one talked about Kwanzaa in my rural Southern town, Sparta, Georgia. Kwanzaa was not part of our narrative for some odd reason.
Note that the demography of my schooling from elementary to high school was well over 95% Black-American, so somebody should’ve been talking…
