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By M. PAUL JACKSON [email protected]
Wednesday, December 26, 2001     Page: 12A

WILKES-BARRE – The African-American celebration of Kwanzaa begins today, as
black families throughout the country reconnect with their heritage.
   
In the Northeastern Pennsylvania region, some African-Americans celebrate
the cultural holiday.
    Because of the region’s size, Kwanzaa “may not get as much recognition as
it would … in a larger city,” said Belinda Tabron, an art teacher at
Coughlin High School.
   
Kwanzaa, a celebration of traditional African-American culture, was created
by a black studies professor at California State University about 35 years
ago.
   
Marked by candle-lighting and quiet discussions, the holiday seeks to
reacquaint blacks with their roots.
   
“The whole idea of Kwanzaa is to re-establish, in African-Americans, the
things that were taken away from them,” said James Wesley Chester, the
president of the Institute for African American National Heritage in
Trucksville.
   
The seven-day observance begins the day after Christmas. It includes a
different celebration for the seven basic guidelines for ideal living. The
ideals are:
   
Umoja (unity): To strive for and maintain unity in family and community.
   
Kujichagulia (self-determination): To define oneself and one’s life rather
than having it defined by others.
   
Ujima (collective work and responsibility): To maintain the physical and
spiritual community.
   
Ujamma (cooperative economics): To build and maintain shops and other
businesses and to profit from them together.
   
Nia (purpose): To make the collective vocation the building of community.
   
Kuumba (creativity): To find ways to add beauty to the community.
   
Imani (faith): To believe in leaders and the righteousness of community
struggle.
   
Families also light red, green and black candles, and eat traditional
African-American and Caribbean foods, Chester said.
   
“It’s the gradual reclaiming for culture and ancestry,” he said.
   
But getting African-Americans to re-establish that ancestry can sometimes
be difficult, he said. Because Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, some blacks
– particularly in largely white areas – might be been slow to embrace the
observance, he said.
   
“It’s a slow process,” said Chester, the author of “The African American
Ethnicity,” a book about ancestral nationality for blacks. “It’s very hard
to change things you have been doing and thinking. You develop a protocol for
yourself.”
   
Neither Chester nor Tabron could speculate how many Northeastern
Pennsylvania blacks were celebrating Kwanzaa. Still, Tabron said many families
were aware of the holiday.
   
African-Americans “who have an appreciation (of Kwanzaa), might not
celebrate, but there is a knowledge of it,” she said.
   
M. Paul Jackson, a staff writer, may be reached at 829-7134.