Boston celebrates Kwanzaa, an African American culture, and the ancestral roots that feed it. Marking the start of the seven-day celebration, Safiya Sanyika organized an event that included live music, a fashion show, and a market filled with handmade wares, as reported by WHDH. Sanyika stated, "This is all about culture. This is about respecting the elders and sharing stories, taking their stories and being able to pass them on."
The celebration continued in Roxbury's Nubian Square, where a library event organized by Sanyika saw over 60 attendees. According to the Boston Globe, drum performer Benjamin Jackson said, "We’re here in remembrance of our ancestors, our past."
The second night of Kwanzaa, 'Ujima,' is set to be held at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury. Additional elements of the celebration in Nubian Square included call-and-response drumming and a performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," as well as local vendors selling cultural goods ranging from books to jewelry. Roxbury's own Lovely Hoffman also performed "A Kwanzaa Song,".
Sanyikatold the Boston Globe, "Kwanzaa is about connecting with the culture, understanding our past, making a plan for the future.". Annetta Dingle-Smith, a Dorchester hair stylist said, "I like to get my family together, cook a good meal, and give them history."
Baba Rumas observed how Kwanzaa, stating "When people are willing to take this lesson and bring it to the community so that others can share it outside their home, that’s what extends your community," he told the Boston Globe.
