Anyone with an aversion to the commercialism that can tower over the Christmas season, take heed:
Kwanzaa arrives Sunday and along with it seven days of purposeful reflection better suited to gifting handmade tokens than mass-produced toys and electronics.
A community Kwanzaa celebration kicks off with a series of events Sunday in and around Five Points, followed by gatherings and parties each day for a week. The celebration culminates with the Big Dance on Jan. 1 at Zion Senior Center, 5151 E. 33rd Ave.
“The first night is a highlight because it opens the way for everything else coming the following week,” says Deanna Lowman, a documentary photographer and longtime member of the Kwanzaa Committee of Denver.
The African liberation colors — red, green, black and gold — punctuate Kwanzaa celebrations, along with the lighting of the seven-pronged candelabra known as the “kinara.”
Sunday’s opening-night festivities include a 2 p.m. Youth Celebration at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center, 2836 Welton St.; a 6 p.m. community Kinara Lighting at Zona’s Tamales, 713 E. 26th Ave.; a 6:45 p.m. parade from the Kinara Lighting to the Cleo Parker Robinson Theatre, 119 Park Ave. West; and the 7 p.m. Kwanzaa Opening Celebration at the Cleo Parker Robinson Theatre.
Kwanzaa, a word that’s derived from a Swahili phrase meaning “fruits of the harvest,” began in Los Angeles in the 1960s after the Watts riots as a way to focus on rebuilding black communities.
Seven principles — one for each day from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 — frame the Kwanzaa celebration. They are unity (Umoja); self-determination (Kujichagulia); collective work and responsibility (Ujimaa); cooperative economics (Ujamma); purpose (Nia); creativity (Kuumba); and faith (Imani).
“The seven principles of Kwanzaa can be applied year-round by (people of) all ages, cultures, religions and economic backgrounds,” says Lowman, who uses Kwanzaa as an opportunity to connect with her 16-year-old daughter, Sakile. “Applying them to our daily lives can help improve our condition in our personal lives and communities.”
Members of the Denver Kwanzaa Committee also mark this year’s festivities as the first that will happen without longtime leader and cultural figurehead, storyteller Opalanga Pugh, who lost her battle with cancer in June.
“Opalanga was dedicated to developing Kwanzaa in Denver,” Lowman says. “She would say: ‘It only takes a few people to communicate a great idea to the masses.’ “
