Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on December 28, 2013

This year, Kwanzaa is staying in Paul Caldwell's closet.

The usual paraphernalia -- the three-color flag, woven mat, candelabra -- won't be making an appearance. "I got all that stuff at home, all packed up," said Caldwell, an 83-year-old retired pastor, as he raised money for the Salvation Army in downtown St. Paul last week.

A block away, another African-American bell ringer explained why she didn't celebrate Kwanzaa. "It's an invented holiday," shrugged Alma Turner. Instead, she favors what she called a genuine holiday -- Christmas.

If the Grinch stole Christmas, who is stealing Kwanzaa?

Enthusiasm for the weeklong African-American holiday is fading, and Kwanzaa diehards are wondering how they can revive it.

St. Paul resident Rex Marshall explains the meaning of Kwanzaa while standing behind a small table with candles and plastic fruit and vegetables at a Kwanzaa celebration and program at Arbor Pointe apartments in St. Paul, Thursday, December 26, 2013. The candles could not be lit due to fire regulations in the building. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

Today, fewer than 3 percent of the United States' 40 million African-Americans celebrate Kwanzaa, according to University of Minnesota professor Keith Mayes, quoted on the university's website.

He said the holiday is celebrated by 20 million people worldwide and is still celebrated vigorously in cities such as Atlanta and Chicago.

But not in Minnesota. In 2000, dozens of Twin Cities events were scheduled for each of the seven days of Kwanzaa. "Now, we are down to three days," said Tinitha "Da Black Pearll" Warren, a spoken-word poet who sponsors Kwanzaa events.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, now a professor of Africana Studies at California State University at Long Beach.

Read the original post:
Is Kwanzaa fading away in Minnesota?

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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