Powerful story in the Herald Sun by Durham;s Shareef Hameed on Kwanzaa. He can be reached at (919) 265-4119
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/localnews/x1791817862/On-the-first-day-of-Kwanzaa-a-message-for-children
Showing posts with label Kwanzaa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kwanzaa. Show all posts
Friday, December 28, 2012
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Yes Virginia, There is a Kwanzaa
There had been much speculation as to whether President Obama would cosign Kwanzaa, this year. However, looks like the Prez and First Lady issued an official statement, yesterday.
Funny, but the mainstream media seem to have not gotten the memo.
The only major newspapers that I see that have picked up the story are the LA Times and USA Today.
Also, both papers only mention the Kwanzaa address on their Internet blogs, not the print additions. (The USA Today blog is actually about my article, "Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama."
Even Fox News, the network that issues a news alert every time the President sneezes is keepin' this on the hush hush. I guess they are too busy trying to blame the Obama Administration for the attempted airplane bombing.
Is the "black holiday" a victim of a media "blackout?"
Let it be known that there are Kwanzaa events taking place all over the country.
Just because you don't see it on the news does not mean that it's not happening...
Funny, but the mainstream media seem to have not gotten the memo.
The only major newspapers that I see that have picked up the story are the LA Times and USA Today.
Also, both papers only mention the Kwanzaa address on their Internet blogs, not the print additions. (The USA Today blog is actually about my article, "Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama."
Even Fox News, the network that issues a news alert every time the President sneezes is keepin' this on the hush hush. I guess they are too busy trying to blame the Obama Administration for the attempted airplane bombing.
Is the "black holiday" a victim of a media "blackout?"
Let it be known that there are Kwanzaa events taking place all over the country.
Just because you don't see it on the news does not mean that it's not happening...
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Great Kwanzaa Debate: TRUTH Minista Paul Scott vs Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
Is Kwanzaa Racist?
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott vs Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
Part 1
http://www.zshare.net/audio/702954129dbed51d/
Part 2
http://www.zshare.net/audio/702956227eef8d64/
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott vs Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
Part 1
http://www.zshare.net/audio/702954129dbed51d/
Part 2
http://www.zshare.net/audio/702956227eef8d64/
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Kwanzaa Greetings to the Right Wingers
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott is scheduled to debate Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson on "Is Kwanzaa Racist?" The segment will air 12/23 at10AM EST.
To listen live go to:
http://www.bondaction.org/media/radio/radio_clock.php
Friday, December 18, 2009
12/23 TRUTH Minista Paul Scott to Debate Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson About Kwanzaa
The Associated Press is running an attack on Kwanzaa in a story today called "Kwanzaa Celebrations Continue, but boom is over."
The story quotes Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who you may have seen many times on Fox News as
saying:
"Get rid of it," said Peterson, who is black. "Reject it completely. Just as we would do if a white racist came up with a false holiday to celebrate whiteness."
I am scheduled to debate Rev. Peterson on his nationally syndicated radio show on 12/23 at 10AM EST about Kwanzaa.
To Listen go to:
http://www.bondaction.org/media/radio/radio_clock.php
The story quotes Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who you may have seen many times on Fox News as
saying:
"Get rid of it," said Peterson, who is black. "Reject it completely. Just as we would do if a white racist came up with a false holiday to celebrate whiteness."
I am scheduled to debate Rev. Peterson on his nationally syndicated radio show on 12/23 at 10AM EST about Kwanzaa.
To Listen go to:
http://www.bondaction.org/media/radio/radio_clock.php
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama
Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama:
Cultural Diversity or Religious Division
Paul Scott
Twas the night before Kwanzaa and all through the White House, staffers gathered to watch President Barack Obama, decked out in a red, black and green dashiki, deliver his first annual Kwanzaa address, urging Americans to practice the Nguzo Saba (the seven principals of Kwanzaa.) He ended his 45 minute speech with seven extremely loud shouts of "Harambe!" which scared the heck out of Conservatives and had Birthers across the country engaging in frantic Google searches , confident that they had finally come up with, indisputable, proof that Obama is part of some radical, militant foreign nationalist organization, deserving immediate deportation....
'Tis the season to be jolly; a time of gifts, celebrations and endless debates over whether black folks should celebrate Christmas or Kwanzaa. This is an especially touchy subject in the era of America's first black president , when any outward expression of "blackness" is subject to a vicious attack by Fox News for being separatist, divisive or just out of sync with the times.
While many African Americans will spend sleepless nights agonizing over whether they should hang stockings over fireplaces or place kinaras on coffee tables, the real topic of discussion should be the need for mutual respect for religious and cultural expression.
Historically, organized religion has had more to do with politics, economics and cultural hegemony than establishing a spiritual relationship with a Divine Being. This is clearly seen if one looks at the religious history of the descendants of those who have suffered under slavery and colonialism.
We must first start with the Portuguese missionaries who sought to "civilize the savage Africans." It is not the point here to question the religious zeal of the early Christian missionaries but to point out how they laid the foundation for slavery and economic exploitation in areas such as the Congo.
In his book, "Africans in History," Basil Davidson points out that Christian missionaries arrived at the same time as the exploiters in the Congo as early as 1483. This exploitation continued throughout the 20th century. As WEB Du bois wrote in his essay "The Rape of Africa, "the missionaries ,still believing in the expanding trade of the 18th century, coupled commerce with missionary effort and did not see the inherent contradiction between them.
Du bois further wrote "the result was that the missionary and the merchant worked side by side and hand in hand."
In America, it must be remembered that the enslaved Africans were not allowed to read the Bible and had to accept the interpretation of the scriptures by their oppressors as the Gospel, most of it resting on the false ideology of "the Curse of Ham" that forever condemned the sons and daughters of Africa to servitude.
This history led to the formation of various African American religious movements over the last 150 years that have tried to retrieve a sense of spiritual identity that was left on the shores of West Africa.
Out of this context, Kwanzaa was born. Although the celebration was first celebrated by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga in 1966, Dr. Ishakumusa Barashango wrote in "Afrikan People and European Holidays: a Mental Genocide" that " Kwanzaa was the kind of celebration that was common to most African societies, though the name would be as varied as the many languages that are spoken on the continent."
Unfortunately, just like Christmas with it's commercialization, Kwanzaa has lost some of its meaning in recent years, prompting some to parrot the false pronouncement that Kwanzaa is not a "black holiday" in an effort to get corporate sponsorship dollars and advertisements from those who would frown on bankrolling a "separatist holiday." However, it cannot be overstated that Kwanzaa is just as African as St. Patrick's Day is Irish.
Also, some have mistaken the "nonreligious" Kwanzaa as an Afrocentric alternative to Christmas. This idea is false both geographically and theologically. From a geographic standpoint it would be impossible to deny the Afro-Asiatic origin of Judeo-Christianity as recorded by Afrocentric scholars such as Dr. Yosef ben Jochannan, John G. Jackson and Rudolph Windsor.
Theologically speaking, the principals celebrated in Kwanzaa and Christianity, as well, existed in Africa thousands of years before the first church was built. So, the idea that Kwanzaa is just a cheap substitute for Christmas is just a cover for those who do not have the courage to challenge traditional western, Euro-Christian thought.
The question facing us this year is can we put aside political and religious dogmatism and accept the beauty of cultural diversity? This is the only way that we will be able to achieve the proverbial "peace on Earth and goodwill towards men."
So, to my open minded liberal peeps sippin' egg nog while reading this article, I wish you the universal season's greetings of Peace, Love and Happiness.
And to the ultra conservative, closed minded bigots who, by now, are yellin' "Bah Humbug" at their computer screens.
"Habari gani, haters !"
Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com For information about the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign lecture tours visit ioimovement.com
Cultural Diversity or Religious Division
Paul Scott
Twas the night before Kwanzaa and all through the White House, staffers gathered to watch President Barack Obama, decked out in a red, black and green dashiki, deliver his first annual Kwanzaa address, urging Americans to practice the Nguzo Saba (the seven principals of Kwanzaa.) He ended his 45 minute speech with seven extremely loud shouts of "Harambe!" which scared the heck out of Conservatives and had Birthers across the country engaging in frantic Google searches , confident that they had finally come up with, indisputable, proof that Obama is part of some radical, militant foreign nationalist organization, deserving immediate deportation....
'Tis the season to be jolly; a time of gifts, celebrations and endless debates over whether black folks should celebrate Christmas or Kwanzaa. This is an especially touchy subject in the era of America's first black president , when any outward expression of "blackness" is subject to a vicious attack by Fox News for being separatist, divisive or just out of sync with the times.
While many African Americans will spend sleepless nights agonizing over whether they should hang stockings over fireplaces or place kinaras on coffee tables, the real topic of discussion should be the need for mutual respect for religious and cultural expression.
Historically, organized religion has had more to do with politics, economics and cultural hegemony than establishing a spiritual relationship with a Divine Being. This is clearly seen if one looks at the religious history of the descendants of those who have suffered under slavery and colonialism.
We must first start with the Portuguese missionaries who sought to "civilize the savage Africans." It is not the point here to question the religious zeal of the early Christian missionaries but to point out how they laid the foundation for slavery and economic exploitation in areas such as the Congo.
In his book, "Africans in History," Basil Davidson points out that Christian missionaries arrived at the same time as the exploiters in the Congo as early as 1483. This exploitation continued throughout the 20th century. As WEB Du bois wrote in his essay "The Rape of Africa, "the missionaries ,still believing in the expanding trade of the 18th century, coupled commerce with missionary effort and did not see the inherent contradiction between them.
Du bois further wrote "the result was that the missionary and the merchant worked side by side and hand in hand."
In America, it must be remembered that the enslaved Africans were not allowed to read the Bible and had to accept the interpretation of the scriptures by their oppressors as the Gospel, most of it resting on the false ideology of "the Curse of Ham" that forever condemned the sons and daughters of Africa to servitude.
This history led to the formation of various African American religious movements over the last 150 years that have tried to retrieve a sense of spiritual identity that was left on the shores of West Africa.
Out of this context, Kwanzaa was born. Although the celebration was first celebrated by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga in 1966, Dr. Ishakumusa Barashango wrote in "Afrikan People and European Holidays: a Mental Genocide" that " Kwanzaa was the kind of celebration that was common to most African societies, though the name would be as varied as the many languages that are spoken on the continent."
Unfortunately, just like Christmas with it's commercialization, Kwanzaa has lost some of its meaning in recent years, prompting some to parrot the false pronouncement that Kwanzaa is not a "black holiday" in an effort to get corporate sponsorship dollars and advertisements from those who would frown on bankrolling a "separatist holiday." However, it cannot be overstated that Kwanzaa is just as African as St. Patrick's Day is Irish.
Also, some have mistaken the "nonreligious" Kwanzaa as an Afrocentric alternative to Christmas. This idea is false both geographically and theologically. From a geographic standpoint it would be impossible to deny the Afro-Asiatic origin of Judeo-Christianity as recorded by Afrocentric scholars such as Dr. Yosef ben Jochannan, John G. Jackson and Rudolph Windsor.
Theologically speaking, the principals celebrated in Kwanzaa and Christianity, as well, existed in Africa thousands of years before the first church was built. So, the idea that Kwanzaa is just a cheap substitute for Christmas is just a cover for those who do not have the courage to challenge traditional western, Euro-Christian thought.
The question facing us this year is can we put aside political and religious dogmatism and accept the beauty of cultural diversity? This is the only way that we will be able to achieve the proverbial "peace on Earth and goodwill towards men."
So, to my open minded liberal peeps sippin' egg nog while reading this article, I wish you the universal season's greetings of Peace, Love and Happiness.
And to the ultra conservative, closed minded bigots who, by now, are yellin' "Bah Humbug" at their computer screens.
"Habari gani, haters !"
Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com For information about the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign lecture tours visit ioimovement.com
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour Comes to llinois
A part of the Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott will be giving a lecture titled "The Truth About Hip Hop" on December 3 at Illinois Wesleyan University. He will also be the keynote speaker at the Kwanzaa event later that night.
http://www.iwu.edu/CurrentNews/newsreleases09/evt_KwanzaaCelebration_01109.shtml
http://www.iwu.edu/CurrentNews/newsreleases09/evt_KwanzaaCelebration_01109.shtml
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Has Kwanzaa Sold Out ?
Has Kwanzaa Sold Out ?
Paul Scott
On that old school Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon, there is a scene where Charlie is complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. If the token black kid, "Franklin" had more of a speaking role, he probably would have made the same point about Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa, the African (American) festival that starts December 26 used to be strictly a holiday for black folks to get themselves reconnected to African based principles. The festival, which was started in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, has in recent years gone the way of Jazz, Rock and Roll and everything else that black folks have created and started to crossover, ie sellout.
http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml
Let me say from the jump. I like my Kwanzaa like I like my coffee; black!
Some things should be sacred. As a matter of full disclosure, I remember, I wasn't too happy when they integrated Soul Train, either. The music just wasn't as funky anymore.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with cultures admiring other cultures. But when white folks start "feeling" black culture, well, it starts losing its blackness. This is especially problematic when they start dictating the terms of black celebrations.
I don't see too many Irish people letting black folks tell them how to run St. Patrick's Day.
This is what is happening to Kwanzaa. It has gone from a time of black empowerment ,where issues affecting African people were discussed to a perpetual session of "Kwanzaa for Dummies."
Most times, the festival events are stuck in Kwanzaa 101 mode and are geared towards the handful of white folks in the audience and the bougie black folks who just discovered that they were black, yesterday. So, the moderator of the program never gets to the point of discussing the practical applications of the Kwanzaa principles (Nguza Saba.) but concentrates on teaching the new target audience how to pronounce Kujichagulia.
"Now, for the 100th time say it with me, koo- gee- cha- gu -lia"
Also, many people who put on these Kwanzaa programs have an innate fear of offending white folks, so many times the speakers are chosen from the "Safe Negro Temp Agency." Therefore, most Kwanzaa discussions rarely deal with anything deeper than explaining the meaning behind the Kwanzaa candles.
How many times have you heard a Kwanzaa speaker start his presentation with the obligatory, "Kwanzaa is not just for black people but for all people" and you said to yourself "what kind of Umoja Juice has he been sippin' on ?"
The reason why black folks allow our culture to be misdirected is simple.
Money, Cheddar, lucci (I'm not sure how to say it in Swahili)
I just can't see Denny's sponsoring a real, in depth workshop on African Ujamaa (collective economics.)
Every year, we are forced to chose between having a small event in the back of a black bookstore or having a "great extravaganza" at some large convention facility. We have to chose between an event where a few black folks scrape together a few dollars for an African pot lock dinner and presentations by a few local activist speakers or a corporate sponsored mega event where even the African drummers go home with a fat paycheck.
Fortunately, there are folks who have championed the cause for Kwanzaa purity like the S.T.E.P. organization in New Jersey.
http://www.steptothefuture.org/
The O'Jays once sang "Christmas just ain't Christmas and New Years just ain't New Years..."
Until we get our "Kujichagulia" act together, Kwanzaa just ain't Kwanzaa either.
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/
He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283
Paul Scott
On that old school Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon, there is a scene where Charlie is complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. If the token black kid, "Franklin" had more of a speaking role, he probably would have made the same point about Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa, the African (American) festival that starts December 26 used to be strictly a holiday for black folks to get themselves reconnected to African based principles. The festival, which was started in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, has in recent years gone the way of Jazz, Rock and Roll and everything else that black folks have created and started to crossover, ie sellout.
http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml
Let me say from the jump. I like my Kwanzaa like I like my coffee; black!
Some things should be sacred. As a matter of full disclosure, I remember, I wasn't too happy when they integrated Soul Train, either. The music just wasn't as funky anymore.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with cultures admiring other cultures. But when white folks start "feeling" black culture, well, it starts losing its blackness. This is especially problematic when they start dictating the terms of black celebrations.
I don't see too many Irish people letting black folks tell them how to run St. Patrick's Day.
This is what is happening to Kwanzaa. It has gone from a time of black empowerment ,where issues affecting African people were discussed to a perpetual session of "Kwanzaa for Dummies."
Most times, the festival events are stuck in Kwanzaa 101 mode and are geared towards the handful of white folks in the audience and the bougie black folks who just discovered that they were black, yesterday. So, the moderator of the program never gets to the point of discussing the practical applications of the Kwanzaa principles (Nguza Saba.) but concentrates on teaching the new target audience how to pronounce Kujichagulia.
"Now, for the 100th time say it with me, koo- gee- cha- gu -lia"
Also, many people who put on these Kwanzaa programs have an innate fear of offending white folks, so many times the speakers are chosen from the "Safe Negro Temp Agency." Therefore, most Kwanzaa discussions rarely deal with anything deeper than explaining the meaning behind the Kwanzaa candles.
How many times have you heard a Kwanzaa speaker start his presentation with the obligatory, "Kwanzaa is not just for black people but for all people" and you said to yourself "what kind of Umoja Juice has he been sippin' on ?"
The reason why black folks allow our culture to be misdirected is simple.
Money, Cheddar, lucci (I'm not sure how to say it in Swahili)
I just can't see Denny's sponsoring a real, in depth workshop on African Ujamaa (collective economics.)
Every year, we are forced to chose between having a small event in the back of a black bookstore or having a "great extravaganza" at some large convention facility. We have to chose between an event where a few black folks scrape together a few dollars for an African pot lock dinner and presentations by a few local activist speakers or a corporate sponsored mega event where even the African drummers go home with a fat paycheck.
Fortunately, there are folks who have championed the cause for Kwanzaa purity like the S.T.E.P. organization in New Jersey.
http://www.steptothefuture.org/
The O'Jays once sang "Christmas just ain't Christmas and New Years just ain't New Years..."
Until we get our "Kujichagulia" act together, Kwanzaa just ain't Kwanzaa either.
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/
He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
NWSF Clip: Black Liberation Theology
The link below is to a clip from a panel discussion held when The Honorable Marcus Garvey's group the UNIA held their convention in Durham in 2005. I am discussing Black Liberation Theology.
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