Parade, festival mark the beginning of Kwanzaa

Story Created: Dec 26, 2011 PST

Story Updated: Dec 26, 2011 at 6:06 PM PST

Hundreds of people lined the parade route along Crenshaw Boulevard on Monday to mark the start of the seven-day African American festival of Kwanzaa.

The theme of the 35th annual Kwanzaa Gwaride Parade and Festival was "A New Paradigm," according to R.W. Akile for People of Color, which organizes the parade and festival.

Linda Jay, a community activist and author of the book "I Was There," was the Iyaba (queen) of the parade and filmmaker Walter Powell was the Oba (king).

A festival in Leimert Park followed the parade.

More activities are planned Monday evening, including a 6 p.m. celebration and candle lighting ceremony at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park, hosted by The Kwanzaa Ujima Collective.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, now chair of Cal State Long Beach's Department of Africana Studies, in what he called "an audacious act of self-determination."

Kwanzaa's focus is the "Nguzo Saba," the Seven Principles ? unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

"The seven principles of Kwanzaa are values that we as Angelenos all hold dear," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

President Barack Obama also sent well wishes to people celebrating Kwanzaa around the nation.

"We celebrate Kwanzaa at a time when many African Americans, and all Americans, reflect on our many blessings and memories over the past year and our aspirations for the year to come," Obama said in a prepared statement. "And even as there is much to be thankful for, we know that there are still many Americans going through enormous challenges and trying to make ends meet.

"But we also know that in the spirit of unity, or Umoja, we can overcome these challenges together."

During the week, a candelabrum called a Kinara is lit, and ears of corn representing each child in the family are placed on a traditional straw mat.

African foods such as millet, spiced pepper balls and rice are often served. Some people fast during the holiday, and a feast is often held on its final night.

A flag with three bars ? red for the struggle for freedom, black for unity and green for the future ? is sometimes displayed during the holiday.

Kwanzaa is based on the theory of Kawaida, which espouses that social revolutionary change for black America can be achieved by exposing blacks to their cultural heritage.

"The celebration of the 45th anniversary of Kwanzaa is a significant marker and milestone in itself, not only because of what it says about the expansive message and enduring meaning that Kwanzaa has for millions throughout the world African community, but also because of what it says about us as a people," Karenga wrote in his annual founder's message.

"For it speaks to our profound commitment to self-determination, to cultural reaffirmation and the celebration of ourselves; to our right and responsibility to speak our own special cultural truth in a multicultural world and to the practice and promotion of Kwanzaa's core principles, the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles, the hub and hinge on which the holiday turns."

A poll commissioned by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch Oct. 4-11 found that 2 percent of the 8,585 adults surveyed said they would celebrate Kwanzaa, compared to 90.5 percent for Christmas and 5.4 percent for Hanukkah.

Source: http://www.wavenewspapers.com/news/Kwanzaa-parade-set-for-Crenshaw-Boulevard-136218948.html

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