YOUNGSTOWN Kwanzaa celebrations wind down

The head of the local Kwanzaa committee cautions against the commercialization of the holiday.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Blacks across the country have wrapped up a week of services and observances of the seven-day Kwanzaa holiday, which has seen a growing interest locally.
The final Kwanzaa observance for this season will be at 5:30 p.m. today at the McGuffey Center on Jacobs Road.
Kwanzaa, started in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a college professor in Los Angeles, is celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 and is based on several traditional African holidays and customs. A candle is lighted for each of the seven days of the celebration. Each candle stands for a principle that is to be embodied and used throughout the coming year.
Local celebration
Kwanzaa was first officially celebrated locally in the late '60s with a push from Freedom Incorporated -- a grass-roots group that worked for the betterment of the black community as a whole.
Attorney Ron Miller, now head of the Kwanzaa committee, and his wife, Lynnette, got involved in organizing the celebration in the late '60s as college students. They remain strongly involved in organizing the celebration today.
Miller said local interest in the holiday tapered in the mid-'70s, but has seen a steady increase in participants since that time.
"Interest has definitely grown. When we first started there would be decent crowds. Then there was a period when maybe 30 people would show up for an observance. Now 150 to 200 people is the average attendance at an observance," he said.
Rose Wilkins has celebrated Kwanzaa for the last decade and organized the celebration at Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Youngstown for the last five years. She said not many people really got involved in the celebration 10 years ago, but more and more people, especially younger people, are showing an interest.
Attention
Wilkins said the reason behind the rise in interest may be the added attention the holiday has received nationally.
"I picked up a calendar this year with the start of Kwanzaa marked on it. That was the first time I ever personally saw that," she said.
Wilkins also said the holiday has become more commercialized leading to more people taking notice. Miller, however, said blacks should be cautious of the commercialization of the celebration. He said commercialization will likely distort the meaning of the holiday.
Even with the growing interest in the holiday, many blacks still do not celebrate Kwanzaa. Miller said the reasons vary, but it must be understood that Kwanzaa is still a relatively new holiday. He also said some people may not understand the holiday.
The Rev. George Wilkins, pastor of Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, said he at one time fell into the group that did not celebrate Kwanzaa because of a lack of understanding. He said people should understand that Kwanzaa is not meant to replace the spiritual celebration of Christmas.
"Kwanzaa and Christmas are two separate entities that happen close to the same time of year," he said.
Miller said many more will come to understand and celebrate Kwanzaa with a continued national push of the seven principles. That has worked for people like Sabbrina Landers, her husband and two children. The family has been celebrating Kwanzaa for the last three years focusing on the principle of the seventh day -- Imani, or faith.
jgoodwin@vindy.com