Back in November of 2006, we received a notification from the school my daughter went to that they would be teaching the children about the details of the holidays Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in December. Of course, Christmas was about pine trees, Santa and pushing the retail marketing segment as you just can’t mention the religious side. Oh, I forgot to mention a slight detail. My daughter was in Kindergarten. That 5-8 year old age range when the children accept whatever they are told as fact.
Being a responsible parent, I actually read the notification. I had no idea what Kwanzaa was. I had never heard of it. So I looked it up online to have a clue. First, I found the listings of the 7 day holiday ritual complete with lighting black candles, words derived from Swahili, practices, Kwanzaa gifts, honoring ancestors and elders, wearing traditional African clothing, and special meals. What I didn’t initially find was the origin of Kwanzaa.
On the initial face value, the first reaction is neutral. Until you dig further and find out the details. That is where it gets disturbing. The foundation of Kwanzaa does not come from any African traditions. It can barely be traced back to Africa at all. It comes from the mind of Dr. Maulana Karenga. Sounds pretty African and there is a doctor title there. It must be good right? To believe that you will need to ignore that it isn’t his real name then sure. You’ll also have forgotten his past and other rather crucial current details.
Dr. Maulana Karenga was born Ronald McKinley Everett. His past includes a rather disturbing detail. He is an ex-convict who was found guilty of beatings, torture and involvement in shootings. His crimes were committed against primarily black people including placing a hot soldering iron into the mouth of a lady while mashing the toe of another lady in a vice.
There are a number of sources that detail this information and go into it in further depth. So This is Kwanzaa, Happy Kwanzaa, The Kwanzaa Hoax, Kwanzaa: Holiday from the FBI, and a number of other sites are good sources to start with.
Here are more thoughts to ponder. The United States is fracturing quickly into a slew of interest groups each pursuing their values systems and trying to impose them on the rest of the nation. This is primarily done through the public education system and the courts. Because we have gotten away from following the Constitution of the USA, these factions have begun to succeed in splitting the nation by interest groups. The danger in pursuing the rediscovering of your roots as Kwanzaa heavily promotes is underlined from a statement from our foundation as a country. “United we stand, divided we fall.” We are dividing the nation quickly.
Somehow we have come to glorify a self-declared Marxist who participated in torture and other crimes over a man of history who loved others and gave his life for them. In the majority of countries around the world, there would be a category for ‘holidays’ like Kwanzaa – banned.
It is a sad note in the history of the USA that the chant for Barabbas is growing.
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