(Beware of bold text and angry writer's voice.)
So, Christmas day has passed, and we're officially 2 days into no one's favourite "holiday," Kwanzaa. For those of you who were previously unaware, Kwanzaa is basically black Hanukkah. 7 days, a different principle for each day, a feast, & gifts. And they threw in some Swahili words & dashikis, for extra flavour.
Now, don't get me wrong; I love being black, and celebrating my racial/cultural heritage. I just hate the second-rate, half-baked "holidays" we're given to do so. In fact, because I love celebrating my culture, I hate Kwanzaa and Black History Month. And I'll tell you why:
1. Kwanzaa was created as an Alternative
Kwanzaa was basically plopped down after Christmas so that it could be an alternative to Christmas. Look at other holidays. They're all FOR something. Something specific. They have specific events and history behind them that they commemorate. Christmas is when you celebrate Jesus's birth/the solstice (whatever; not the topic at hand). Jewish Passover celebrates the day the angel of death passed over their houses & didn't kill them. Halloween has a specific background, thanksgiving has a specific background, Valentine's, EVEN ST. PATRICK'S DAY HAS MORE HISTORICAL GROUNDS THAN KWANZAA. None of these holidays were created as a means of NOT celebrating something else. Even the commandeered day of Christmas, once placed, was given a specific event to celebrate. Kwanzaa HAS no event to celebrate. Nothing special happened on the 26th, that's being commemorated. It's a pacifier, basically; it's like when one kid wins a contest and gets a toy, and another kid says "MOMMY, THAT'S NOT FAIR; I WANT A TOY." And the mother just gives the other kid a toy, so that he'll shut up, and she can go back to watching her shows. I, for one, don't want a sympathy holiday to justify celebrating that I have African ancestry.
2. Kwanzaa and Black History Month are broad-spectrum, and marginalizing
Like I said before, Kwanzaa isn't actually in commemoration OF anything. It isn't even african in origin; it started in the states. So basically, you celebrate all of Africa's culture for a week. Same with Black History Month, basically; yes, you have Abraham Lincoln & Fredrick Douglas's birthdays, but why not celebrate their birthdays, in that case ? BHM is a celebration of all black accomplishments, and a time to remember our heritage. For a month(The shortest one, I might add). Now, name me ONE other race that restricts the celebration of THE ENTIRETY of its various cultures and accomplishments to any one month, let alone a damn WEEK. Shoot, we celebrate white history every time we speak, basically. Why can't I observe the principles of Unity, Creativity, Faith, and the other "Kwanzaa" principles past January 1st ? Why can't I celebrate the accomplishments of black people year-round ? Why is it even called "Black" history ? Did not all people benefit from the events that occurred ? Why is it only during February that I can learn about the accomplishments of people like Hiram Revels, the first African-American senator, or Macon Bolling Allen, first black lawyer ? And why don't we LEARN about those kinds of people ? I mean, the supersoaker is awesome, but it's not all that empowering to know that a black guy designed a toy gun. Tell me about someone OTHER than Malcolm X, MLKJ, Madam CJ Walker, and Harriet Tubman.
Speaking of whom, WHYYY is BHM ALWAYS so SLAVERY-HEAVY ? Why is there no mention of pre-slavery history ? Basically, we're supposed to remember how crappy life was during slave-times, and then go around hi-fiving each other because we're "free" now. And sprinkle in some relatively non-goundbreaking things like invention of traffic lights. The people who SHOULD be celebrating the emancipation proclamation are white people, as a day when enough of them finally realized that black people are equal, and released them from their chains. Seriously, you expect me to be HAPPY about now having the same rights, after hundreds of years of systematic oppression, both during and post-slavery, as an old white man had 300 years ago ? Oh, let me go plan a party. We'll bake an Abraham Lincoln-shaped cake, and never eat it because it is in the image of our saviour.
Basically, what I'm saying is that when you celebrate Kwanzaa or observe Black History month, you marginalize yourself. (If you're not black, then I guess you're marginalizing us, and not yourself.) You restrict the greatness of your (or our) heritage to a tiny, government-allotted period of time, where you could instead be celebrating all year round. Celebrate African culture, not Kwanzaa; celebrate our history, not Black History month.
Peace In, Peace Out.
