Quote:
Originally posted by Taualumna
I don't really understand. Why would you use culture from one part of the continent when most present day blacks in the US are decended from another part?
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The challenge for most Black Americans is that we really don't know WHERE we come from because of the history of slavery, so most Blacks connect to anything remotely African. I don't know Karenga or his goals in creating Kwanzza, but the need for connection is great in all cultures. Some time ago there was a thread on GC call "what are you" or something like that, asking people to tell they cultural/racial makeup. Most of the African Americans on this site stayed out, becuase we could not say things like "My grandparents came over from Ireland or England or even Kenya or Senegal" Saying "All I know is that my great grandmother was a slave on the Strickland plantation in GA" does not have the same impact. So, you can call Kwanzza flawed because it is not tied specifically to a culture that most AA can identify with, or you can recognize the need for connection.