Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 19 December 1996 — Page 4

The Muncie Times, December KWANZAA from page 1 of cultural synthesis...Kwanzaa is a synthesis ofboth continental African and diaspora African cultural elements.” From the African and African American experiences he has woven a quilt that combines modernity with tradition in an effort to create a meaningful cultural and educational statement for those seeking to be connected to their roots—but without having to leave the United States. Kwanzaa is based on seven principles (called in Swahili Nguzo Saba) which are to be celebrated separately on each of the seven days of the holiday. The principles are umoja (unity); Kujichagulia (self-determination); ujima (collective work and

19, 1996, Page 4 responsibility); ujamaa (cooperative economics); nia (purpose); kuumba (creativity); and imani (faith). According to Karenga’s book these are the brief explanations of the principles: ♦ Umoja (unity) means to “strive for a principled and harmonious togetherness in the family, community, nation and world African community.” ♦ Kujichagulia (self-determination) means “to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves, instead of being defined, named, created for and spoken for by others.” ♦ Ujima (collective work and responsibility) means building and maintaining “our community together and

making our sister’s and brothers’ problems our problems and solving them together.” ♦ Ujamaa (cooperative economics) is “building our own businesses, controlling the economics of our own community and sharing in all the work and wealth.” ♦ Nia (purpose) is concentrating on the “building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.” ♦ Kuumba (creativity) is to always do “as much as we can, in the way we can in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.” ♦ Imani (faith) means to “believe with all our

heart in our Creator, our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.” There are special daily greetings during Kwanzaa, such as “Habari gani?” meaning “What's the news?” The person being addressed responds by uttering the principle for that day, such as “Umoja, or ujima, or kuumba...” In each house or meeting place there is a candelabra on which sit three red and three green candles. In the center is a black candle because it represents black people in unity. The three red candle are on the left and the three green on the right. The children should light the candles. The person lighting the candle repeats the principal for

the day. The black candle is lit first.. Tlie red candles are lit on the second, third, and fourth day because red represents struggle. The green candles are lit on the fifth, sixth, and seventh day. The green represents a green future. There can be no future without struggle. On the last day, Dec. 31 st is the day when people eat, drink, sing, dance and are merry as they celebrate the end of one year and the dawn of another. Kwanzaa organizers emphasize that this is not a religious or sectarian holiday. The emphasis is not on commercialism. When gifts are exchanged, they are expected to be meaningful ones, such as food, books or educational toys for children.

HARAMBEE! fi-om page / nationwide on PBS beginning Dec. 19 through 29. Check local listings. The realities of random violence confront the Bames family when a stray bullet enters their apartment on Christmas night. Eleven-year-old JoJo Barnes (Aaron Beener), his sister, and cousin are then forced to stay inside because of their mother’s real concerns for her family’s safety. In frustration, JoJo writes a school composition on the injustice of violence, and how it has made him a prisoner in his own community, even within his own home. That evening JoJo’s family attends their first Kwanzaa celebration at their housing project’s community center where Chimbuko (Howard Rollins), an activist and former drug addict who has walked the road of recovery for five years, sees Kwanzaa as a way to help the community come together to meet the changes in their neighborhood. When JoJo’s grandmother, Queenesther (Novella Nelson), is chosen as the community elder to begin the Umoja

(Swahili for “mutual wellbeing”) ceremony, she proudly asks her grandson to share his school essay with the gathering. A popular newspaper columnist, attending with JoJo's journalist aunt, is so moved by the boy’s plea for a safer neighborhood that he features the essay in his column the next morning. Sparked by the temporary attention from City Hall and the police department following the publication of JoJo’s essay, the housing project residents use Kwanzaa as a catalyst for action. But change is never easy or without risk. JoJo’s older sister must make a choice between her family and her gangbanger boyfriend, Flex. JoJo’s mother must decide

whether to trust again, and JoJo must come to terms with information that his police officer father was a substance abuser at the time of his death. Finally, it is the fiery and determined family matriarch Queenesther who embraces tire Kwanzaa philosophy, demonstrating how each person must take a stand to stop the violence that plagues our communities. HARAMBEE! effectively dramatizes the vulnerability we all share in a world where tire fragile veneer separating us from violence can be shattered without warning. And where a young man's anger and sense ofhopelessness can quickly lead him to violence as a way of trying to control the world around him.

With the help of an exceptionally talented cast, director/wiiter Cas Hyman and executive producer Liz Nealon craft a powerfi.il family drama that entertains and educates, weaving the seven nights of Kwanzaa into a spiritual journey. Together JoJo’s community realize they can make a better world for themselves and their children using the Kwanzaa philosophy as their guide: Umoja (mutual well-being), Kujichangulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics). Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Rounding out the ensemble cast are several talented young actors, including China Jesusita Shavers as “Shanora” (TV’s “Here and Now”), Tristin Mays as “Angel” (TV's “Cosby”), and Merlin Santant (TV’s “Moesha”) as “Flex,” a young man walking deeper and deeper into a life of violence. Nealon and Hyman, co-creator and head writer, respectively, of the popular PBS children’s literacy mystery series “Ghostwriter”,

and Nickelodeans’ “Gullah Gullah Island,” bring a deft tough to HARAMBEE! The overt intent of the program to educate viewers on the meaning and importance of the Kwanzaa holiday never eclipses the storytelling, which effectively uses humor and drama to create an authentic African American family stoiy For more information about HARAMBEE! and other ITVS presentations, call Lois Vossen/Nancy Robinson at 612/225-9035, extension 235/ 224.

Kwanzaa is a singular African American commemorative observance and festival celebration of unity, positive images, and values in the continuous struggle by African Americans for full economic, political, and social equality in American life. Established in 1966 by Dr. Jaulana “Ron ’’ Karenga to be celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, Kwanzaa is a set of prescribed rituals and ceremonies honoring Nguzo Saba or the Seven Principles.