Kwanzaa kicks off with spirit, wisdom

  • David Quick
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
  • Posted: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 12:42 p.m.
  • Text size: A A A
One of the elders, who only identified himself as
David Quick /One of the elders, who only identified himself as "Brother Bob," drums along with Kwaku Adisi as part of the Kwanzaa celebration marking Ujimaa, or creative works and responsibility, at St. Julian Devine Community Center.

What the Kwanzaa celebration kick-off in Charleston lacked in size, it made up in spirit and pride.

The celebration started today on the peninsula's East Side with a drum call at Mall Park and a half-mile-long parade from the park to St. Julian Devine Community Center. It marked the day of Kwanzaa focused on "Ujimaa," or creative works and responsibility. About 50 participated in the procession, led by drummers from Studio PS and the Wona Womalan ("Let's Come Together") African drumming group. Another 30 or so filtered into the center during a celebration.

The event featured more drumming, dancing, messages from elders and other community leaders, and food. A main theme to the event was listening to elders and teaching children African traditions and values so that they will pass them down to future generations.

The community center, manager Shirley Scott said, has been holding the celebration for about 15 years.

"Kwanzaa is not a substitute for Christmas, though some people think that," Scott said. "Kwanzaa is about getting ready for the New Year -- tying up loose ends and getting rid of old problems and baggage."

One of most poignant talks came from Kwaku Adisi, who urged young people to study hard and move, literally, to Ghana. He said, "They are looking for you young folks to come home and rebuild the country."

The effort to connect Charleston with West Africa, Scott said, may come in the future with a Skype Internet phone communication between youths who routinely come to St. Julian Devine and those in West African villages. Studio PS also may start a cultural exchange between Charleston and Africa.

Terrance Jackson, a spokesman for the drummers, urged those in his age group of 18 to 25 to reach out to elders to learn and for elders to offer their wisdom to young adults, especially men.

Bob Small, among the Lowcountry's strongest advocates for Kwanzaa, helped lead today's celebration and reiterated that Kwanzaa is primarily a harvest ritual, which focuses on maintaining African culture in the United States.

Small moved from New Jersey to South Carolina in 1969, worked at the Penn Center near Beaufort, and quickly embraced and promoted Kwanzaa, a holiday started in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of African studies at California State University at Long Beach.

Kwanzaa events continue through Saturday.

Reach David Quick at 937-5516.