Kwanzaa’s 3rd day implores action

Speakers, attendees call for community involvement

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND --12/28/13--  Ricky Howard on saxaphone and Ojima Robinson, both of Little Rock, on a drums share a light moment during a celebration of Kwanzaa at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock Saturday. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 as the first specifically African-American holiday and is based on the seven principles of African Heritage. It begins the day after Christmas and lasts until New Years' Day.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND --12/28/13-- Ricky Howard on saxaphone and Ojima Robinson, both of Little Rock, on a drums share a light moment during a celebration of Kwanzaa at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock Saturday. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 as the first specifically African-American holiday and is based on the seven principles of African Heritage. It begins the day after Christmas and lasts until New Years' Day.

Day three of the seven-day community Kwanzaa celebration in Little Rock featured a saxophonist, a drummer and a “call to action,” as one organizer put it, in central Arkansas.

Saturday’s celebration focused on “ujima,” the third of seven themes of Kwanzaa, which runs Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 every year. Kwanzaa is a celebration of African-American heritage started in 1966 by activist and Africana Studies professor Maulana Karenga of California State University-Long Beach. The seven themes include “umoja” (unity), “kujichagulia” (self-determination), “ujima” (collective work and responsibility), “ujamaa” (cooperative economics), “nia” (purpose), “kuumba” (creativity) and “imani” (faith).

In Little Rock, observers can gather publicly at seven different places for each dayof Kwanzaa. On Saturday, people gathered at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center on West Ninth Street. Attendees listened to music and speakers and expressed their ideas of how to practice the principle of “ujima.”

“Ujima” refers to how people in a community can make it better, Deborah Bell told the crowd. Bell is a director of the nonprofit Better Community Development.

“One of the things happening in our community is a lot of crime,” she said.

Bell said that young men need more mentors to help them shift their lives away from drugs and crime.

“I know you don’t want them dating your daughters,” she said.

The Rev. Cory Anderson, vice president of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, stressed the need for more involvement in the community, noting that not enough people voted in the Little Rock School District Board elections and the Robinson Center special election.

“We are our brother and sister’s keeper,” he said.

Kwanzaa helps people form resolutions for the new year, and having a public celebration helps people educate one another on the needs and ideas in their community, said Garbo Hearne, an organizer for the event.

Many audience members stood and stated how their goals for the next year related to “ujima.”

Beverly Garner-Harris of North Little Rock said she wanted to “stomp out” rejection of homeless people, who she said were invisible to most people and felt unaccepted by their families.

“They’re here, but we choose not to see them,” she said.

Bernadette Divine of PineBluff said she wanted to encourage voting in her city and make residents more aware of who public officials are and why they’re important.

“Public policy affects us all, and I think the more we get people engaged in that process, [the better],” she said.

Marquese McFerguson of Little Rock said he wanted to focus on making creative arts available to young people in the community who might be struggling with mental-health issues and who “just want to be heard, but no one is listening.”

At the end of the ceremony, three children lit the first three candles of Kwanzaa, and attendees were given sheets of paper on which they could write their resolutions for 2014.

“This is a way that you can revive yourself for the new year,” Hearne said.

Arkansas, Pages 13 on 12/29/2013

Upcoming Events