kwanzaa-wakanda

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

"But Karenga--"

I do not give a shit about that nigga. He's largely irrelevant to my life and practice.

Would he take issue with that? Probably, I know his defenders do.

But when you try to lead a cultural revolution, you have to expect that the best of what you create/give shape to will become larger than yourself.

Kwanzaa and the concept of Maafa are bigger than Karenga. They belong to us, not him. They reflect us, not just him.

The man is not a god, his views are not gospel, and we are not a religion. I can and will pick which parts of his philosophies I think are useful and which ones I don't. I encourage us all to do the same, so we don't make the mistake of turning our cultural struggle into a parade of idols.

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

when ya grandma can’t wait to wear the dress you bought her from Africa to a Kwanzaa event 🤣 she so cute

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Happy first day of Kwanzaa! ❤️🖤💚

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Ekua's Kwanzaa Stamp

We’re beyond thrilled to share some amazing news about our very own @ekuaholmes! 

Ekua has created a stunning stamp celebrating Kwanzaa for the United States Postal Service®!

The stamp was unveiled yesterday and is now available nationwide! Her beautiful design, inspired by a live performance at OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center in Roxbury, features a drummer and two dancers, perfectly capturing the essence of Kwanzaa—  family, history, values, community, and African American culture.  Ekua is in Pittsburgh this week celebrating the stamp’s launch! 

Congratulations, Ekua and thank you for the gift of this postal treasure!

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Redditors crashed the website with donations over $25k and 0 wishes left. via /r/MadeMeSmile

Click here and follow to get more daily positivity on your dash!

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Don't forget about the Congo!!

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara https://e360.yale.edu/features/siddharth-kara-cobalt-mining-labor-congo https://bnn.network/watch-now/congolese-man-self-immolates-to-highlight-overlooked-genocide-in-congo/ https://migrantsrights.org.uk/2023/11/07/silent-genocides/

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

I think a problem in a lot of Black and African discourses is that many people, upon realizing that the idyllic Black Community™️ doesn't currently exist, throw their hands up and decide the entire idea is pointless.

I was a kid, too. I was sold dreams of a world where Black people across the world understand both our triumphs and our struggles as related to one another. Like a lot of people, I grew up anticipating to find acceptance and comraderie whether another Black person was from the US, the Caribbean, or the Continent. And like just about everyone, I was disappointed when I realized that even within local areas, true Black unity is rare.

We both look at the world as it is and see how African people treat each other globally. But whereas some people use the world's reality as proof Black unity can never work, I look at it as proof that we need to make it work.

I think that's ultimately the difference between...I don't even really have a word for these divergent world views. Essentializing them to political philosophies feels too reductive.

There's Black people that believe Black unity is a scam and a farce, that we're wasting our time lying to ourselves about it ever being real.

And then there's Black people that believe it can exist if we put in the work. Or, at least, that we should put in the work and keep trying to make it happen.

And this latter group finds community with each other. All of us who believe naively that Africans in Diaspora and Africans in the Continent can build community and resistance together find community with eachother.

I wonder who the first group finds community with. It seems like a very lonely outlook to hold.

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

for anyone who isn’t aware, friendsofthecongo.org/campaigns contains a list of actions you can take to help the democratic republic of congo, including pdfs of postcards you can print and send to a list of tech companies to tell them to stop using child miners AND a letter you can sign and send to your reps (+ potentially incorporate the main points of that letter into any scripts you might already be using for emails or calls to your reps!). friends of the congo also has a volunteer application form and a youtube channel

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

sudanese-led causes to donate to!

sources: 1, 2

Links:

Sudanese Americans Physicians Association / Twitter

Darfur Women Action / Twitter

Hadhreen / Twitter

Fill A Heart / Twitter

HomeTax / Twitter

Hanabneiho (Twitter)

Sudan-Cairo Aid / Instagram

Barana Hanabneiho (Twitter)

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

They're also censoring people who use these tags on X. Sudanese creators and activists who are talking about their experiences -and often not able to share extensive details about their sufferings because if they do, they could be killed for sharing information. Saying 'genocide' is getting their posts flagged and accounts banned too. We need to be talking about this too.

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Let’s pay attention to what’s happening in the Congo.

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

Every year I search social media for posts about Kwanzaa

And every year I see more and more posts in Spanish and Portugese

This year, I've even seen a few in Kreyòl Ayisyen

We winning XD

[kwanzaa-wakanda]

My Kwanzaa Mix on Pandora (Left) and YouTube Music (Right).

♥️♥️♥️🖤💚💚💚🎵🎶🎵🎶