KWANZAA OBSERVANCE MAKES PLEA TO YOUTHS

Cape Girardeau's African Americans came together New Year's Day, but it wasn't to celebrate the new year.

An extended cultural family of approximately 30 people met to celebrate Imani, or faith, during the second annual Citywide Kwanzaa Celebration.

The gathering was held at Second Baptist Church, 428 S. Frederick. It emphasized fellowship, feasting and the future.

Kwanzaa is a Kiswahili word meaning celebrating the first fruits. The cultural holiday was developed in September 1965, by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a black studies professor who felt African Americans needed a holiday that paid tribute to the cultural roots of African ancestry.

The weeklong holiday runs Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.

"We are celebrating the last principle of Kwanzaa, which is Imani, faith," said Michael Sterling, one of the event organizers. "We want people to know what Kwanzaa is. We hope this celebration will give us some Nia, purpose, so we can know what we're supposed to be doing on a daily basis."

There are seven principles of Kwanzaa which serve as guides for daily living. The principles, along with the seven basic symbols of Kwanzaa, use traditional and modern items to reflect concepts that evolved from the life and struggle of African American people.

The seven principles of Kwanzaa are unity, Umoja; self-determination, Kujichagulia; collective work and responsibility, Ujima; cooperative economics, Ujamaa; purpose, Nia; creativity, Kuumba; and faith, Imani.

"I like the second principle, Kujichagulia," said Sterling. "I like that one because it stands for everything we have not been doing in the past." The self-determination principle stands for the ability to define, name, create and speak as a people instead of being defined, named, created for and spoken for by others, he said.

Those attending the ceremony heard reflections on the past by several people, including Juanita Spicer, longtime Cape Girardeau activist. She told the audience the community needed to take more responsibility for its children. They are getting angry, she said, and don't know what avenues they have open to them.

Another speaker, retired Navy 1st Sgt. Thomas M. Drummond Sr., encouraged youths in the audience to become active in programs like the Junior ROTC. He said the program builds self-esteem, which helps keep students in school, and helps prepare students for the future.

The program also included two Kwanzaa traditions: a candle-lighting ceremony and a libation ceremony. Both were conducted in part by Baba Oje, a former member of the Grammy-award-winning group Arrested Development.

"Because you have an African gathering, the first thing you do is invite the rest of your family," Oje said during the libation ceremony. "This includes inviting all of the members of your family who have gone before you."

As part of the libation ceremony, Oje performed part of an ancient Egyptian ceremony in Kiswahili and English to invite the audience and all ancestors to take over and lead the families, meetings, and gatherings in the community.

Dr. Bernice Coar-Cobb, an associate professor of biology education at Southeast Missouri State University and organizer of the event, said the program emphasized youth and healthy living, which are both essential elements of Kwanzaa. Hopefully, the children and adults will know more about what Kwanzaa stands for, and they can take that knowledge with them and use it positively, she said.

"We are hoping our young people will come together and work together in our community after today," she said. "Today our young people will see what is required of them on a daily basis, and they'll learn how to eat better. All of this will help them to respond to the things that happen to them in their community in a positive way."