Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration beginning on Dec. 26 but this time, the occasion is different than in past years. This Kwanzaa, we have a black man in the White House.
Kwanzaa, which was first observed more than 40 years ago and is often mistakenly called the "Black Christmas," is undeniably about race. But it is also about cultural heritage, as it recalls the fact that millions of Americans came to this country from Africa as slaves.
The word "Kwanzaa" itself means "first fruits" in Swahili. It has seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
During this year's celebration, which runs through Jan. 1, we will try to honor those principles, since they are still relevant. We are not yet in a post-racial world. Professor Cornel West has it right: Race does still matter.
You can see it reflected in the unemployment numbers and in the foreclosure statistics. It's still harder to get a job or rent an apartment if you're black, even if your qualifications are the same. And blacks are arrested more often, convicted more often and incarcerated for longer periods of time than whites accused of the same crimes.
But Kwanzaa is not just a black holiday. Many of its principles are universal. Take "creativity." Here is the official Kwanzaa explanation of this principle: "To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it." That is something we all can get behind.
Happy Kwanzaa.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
"Black in America 2" Good Discussion About Race
Race matters, and not just where there is racism. You need no further evidence than the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, the controversy surrounding that arrest and the diverging perspectives on it, depending on whether you are white or black.
The Gates incident surfaced just as CNN was continuing its discussion on race with Black in America 2.
I asked the reporter on the series, Soledad O’Brien, to give me her post-airing thoughts via Twitter. Here’s what she said: The “timing of Gates arrest makes me realize examining experience of black Americans is timely and relevant.”
It couldn’t have been more so.
Some black folks were critical of the series, stating that it added nothing to the discourse. I disagree. Many of us have the notion that we know more about “them” than they do about “us.” But it’s not just black and white, and that’s what I enjoyed about the series.
I am black, and I experienced many an “ahah” moment from the profiles presented. I also enjoyed the socio-economic diversity within the series. It didn’t just focus on the downtrodden black person trying to rise up from the so-called ghetto. There were affluent blacks, and not so affluent ones. There were young and old, and the older group is one that many of us are not familiar enough with. One group noticeably missing, however, was the black gay community.
Black in America 2 didn’t try to tell the whole story, and no one can. But it showed some snapshots of the lives of black folks, and these are part of the American family album that all of us should enjoy.
I am looking forward to Black in America 3 from CNN, and Latinos in America in October 2009. There is a rumor that Gay in America is coming in 2010. I hope that’s true, too.
We need to know more about each other in this country. And the more we know, the less likely we are to react to events in ways that correspond only to who we are on the surface.
The Gates incident surfaced just as CNN was continuing its discussion on race with Black in America 2.
I asked the reporter on the series, Soledad O’Brien, to give me her post-airing thoughts via Twitter. Here’s what she said: The “timing of Gates arrest makes me realize examining experience of black Americans is timely and relevant.”
It couldn’t have been more so.
Some black folks were critical of the series, stating that it added nothing to the discourse. I disagree. Many of us have the notion that we know more about “them” than they do about “us.” But it’s not just black and white, and that’s what I enjoyed about the series.
I am black, and I experienced many an “ahah” moment from the profiles presented. I also enjoyed the socio-economic diversity within the series. It didn’t just focus on the downtrodden black person trying to rise up from the so-called ghetto. There were affluent blacks, and not so affluent ones. There were young and old, and the older group is one that many of us are not familiar enough with. One group noticeably missing, however, was the black gay community.
Black in America 2 didn’t try to tell the whole story, and no one can. But it showed some snapshots of the lives of black folks, and these are part of the American family album that all of us should enjoy.
I am looking forward to Black in America 3 from CNN, and Latinos in America in October 2009. There is a rumor that Gay in America is coming in 2010. I hope that’s true, too.
We need to know more about each other in this country. And the more we know, the less likely we are to react to events in ways that correspond only to who we are on the surface.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Happy Mother’s Day, Michelle
By Akilah Bolden-Monifa, May 10, 2009
On her own merits, she is an accomplished, three-dimensional modern black woman. Even with all the privileges of the White House, she still has to balance the conflict between work and family life. And by bringing her mother to the White House, she acknowledges that all families need support.
This Mother’s Day is the first time we’ve had a woman of African descent as the nation’s most famous mother.
I’m referring, of course, to Michelle Obama, who shatters stereotypes. An Ivy League graduate and successful attorney, she is as far from the “welfare queen” stereotype as you can imagine.
Neither does she fit other stereotypes of the overbearing black woman, or the “mammy” of all-too-many Hollywood depictions.
Nor does she fit the stereotype of the abandoned black woman, who has to do all the work because the black man in her life has left her.
On her own merits, she is an accomplished, three-dimensional modern black woman. Even with all the privileges of the White House, she still has to balance the conflict between work and family life. And by bringing her mother to the White House, she acknowledges that all families need support. At the same time, she properly preserves her daughters’ privacy while raising her family in the most public of houses.
Although Michelle Obama should not have the burden of representing all mothers, she can certainly help with the image of black mothers.
She is a role model for all women and mothers.
So Happy Mother’s Day, Michelle.
And on this day, let us move beyond stereotypes — and value women and mothers for who they are.
They all deserve it, today and every day.
On her own merits, she is an accomplished, three-dimensional modern black woman. Even with all the privileges of the White House, she still has to balance the conflict between work and family life. And by bringing her mother to the White House, she acknowledges that all families need support.
This Mother’s Day is the first time we’ve had a woman of African descent as the nation’s most famous mother.
I’m referring, of course, to Michelle Obama, who shatters stereotypes. An Ivy League graduate and successful attorney, she is as far from the “welfare queen” stereotype as you can imagine.
Neither does she fit other stereotypes of the overbearing black woman, or the “mammy” of all-too-many Hollywood depictions.
Nor does she fit the stereotype of the abandoned black woman, who has to do all the work because the black man in her life has left her.
On her own merits, she is an accomplished, three-dimensional modern black woman. Even with all the privileges of the White House, she still has to balance the conflict between work and family life. And by bringing her mother to the White House, she acknowledges that all families need support. At the same time, she properly preserves her daughters’ privacy while raising her family in the most public of houses.
Although Michelle Obama should not have the burden of representing all mothers, she can certainly help with the image of black mothers.
She is a role model for all women and mothers.
So Happy Mother’s Day, Michelle.
And on this day, let us move beyond stereotypes — and value women and mothers for who they are.
They all deserve it, today and every day.
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