Reflections on Kwanzaa 2003 (4)
C Spinner
Kwanzaa is Not a Substitute for Christmas
Jalilah Hamin
Kwanzaa is not a substitute for Christmas or any other holiday.
Kwanzaa is a celebration of our people, and is gradually being
accepted and shared in various family circles. Since our holiday is
unlike any other, we need to make the conscious effort to leave the
European values of commercialization of any holiday to the Europeans.
There is no reason to max out our credit cards or clean out our bank
accounts to provide Kwanzaa gifts to our families and friends. The
thought behind the gift is the most important thing, despite what
advertisers bombard us with on television from the middle of October
until the end of the year. Don’t fall for the guilt trip that she has
to have a diamond if your love is true. The precious stones and
minerals mined in the motherland are symbolic of the profiteering of
those in control of the diamond mines. Give your mate a card with a
note attached, explaining that the money you would have spent on a
diamond ring is going into a savings account instead, for a future
home or vacation. A craft project, something fashioned by your own
able hands is a true gift of love. If not so inclined, then perhaps a
gift from an African vendor, or a book about our history might be a
good choice. Mr. Macy’s, Mr. Sears and Mr. Bloomindales don’t care
about us. Why race to hand over our hard earned money to established
firms who care not one lick for our community?
The mass marketers realize that Africans in the United States have
buying power. Their effort to capitalize on our holiday is evident in
the rows of Kwanzaa greeting cards, wrapping paper, African themed
gifts, and other items, that a few years ago weren’t as evident in
malls around America. The U.S. Postal service offers a Kwanzaa stamp
and advertisements in newspapers feature Kwanzaa themes as well. As
Public Enemy so eloquently stated, “Don’t believe the hype.” The
recognition of the holiday is not due to any newfound respect for us
as a people. It’s just another opportunity to make a dollar.
Gift giving is a vital part of Kwanzaa. The purpose of the gift is to
educate, or to show genuine affection for friends and families.
Overspending to impress isn’t at all what this celebration is about.
Best Buy and Circuit City wish us to believe that the big screen
television that you can’t afford is the only appropriate gift for the
man in your life. It’s not.
Cooperative economics is one of the principles of Kwanzaa. If it’s
impossible for you to craft a gift for the one you love, them please
spend your money in our own community. It’s no longer difficult to
find African or African-American vendors who offer the genuine thing.
We have the opportunity here to self empower, and we must take
advantage of this opportunity. Imagine if each of us refuses to spend
in any store not owned and operated by us folks. The economic impact
would be amazing.
Instead of keeping up with the Joneses, let’s ignore them. They’re not
about us.
http://onepeoples.com/current/kwannotchrist.html
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Comments:
A) "Why race to hand over our hard earned money to established firms
who care not one lick for our community?"
True.
However, you need a dedication to a cause - a campaign of activism
and agitation if recognition is to be pried from those
giants. However, with the disappointments, threats to personal
safety, long hours and grueling schedules away from home,
few (especially those over 30 years) can manage it.
B) Kwanzaa 2003 probably signaled a coming of age of the Kwanzaa
celebration.
Among the new offers that debuted were the gift cards and the VISA
cards offered by banks and department stores.
However, some American-African leaders have expressed their opposition
to the commercialization of the month and celebration through cards
and certificates that encourage spending.
1) There are cards issued for the 'Christmas' and 'Hanukkah'.
And people have no reservations about using them.
Some blacks use them too.
1) African-Americans spend $millions during the holiday month.
2) African-Americans buy gift certificates and use credit cards to
pay for the $millions in purchases.
So why shouldn't they spend the money using a card or certificate that
declares their identity? It is their money, after all!
And they do not have to spend it in stores that do not recognize them
and their thing - do they?
C) In fact I was tempted to send Kwanzaa certificates to some white
racists that prowl the African NGs. But I realized that I was assuming
that the bastards would be so incensed by the 'Kwanzaa' thing that
they would immediately return the certificates to me.
No, they wouldn't. For $money the white supremacists would gladly
flash a Kwanzaa card.
[Do you get the nagging impression that I am NOT suggesting
that the people at Sears, Hallmark, Bank of America (who are
capitalizing on Kwanzaa) would necessarily be placed above
suspicion when it comes to recreational lynching of a black?]
Which brings me back to the question regarding
the marginalization of the maligned blacks in white-lands
vis-a-vis
the vast riches of the blacks' African Motherland.
why are you poor, african child?
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____the native shall not be denied