Brooklyn was abuzz with the spirit of Kwanzaa this past Thursday, as a sea of participants joined the 7th annual Kwanzaa Crawl to honor unity and bolster black-owned businesses. The unique festivity, meshing tradition with a modern twist, drew crowds numbering in the thousands, the streets pulsing with a celebratory vibe in support of the local economy and cultural solidarity. "Traditionally this is not how people would have celebrated Kwanzaa, but this is how we’ve chosen to celebrate," Kerry Coddett told Gothamist, the event co-founder and Brooklyn native.
Commencing from the historical Crown Heights' Crown Hill Theater, the event schooled eager participants on the seven principles of Kwanzaa, which were symbolized by seven candles proudly displayed on the Pan-African flag. Emphasizing the collective identity of the attendees, Marlon Rice, director of programming for Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation, heralded at the event, "Whether you come from Barbados or Jamaica or Ghana or Nigeria, Dominican Republic from down south, we are one nation," as covered by Gothamist.
After the kick-off ceremony, the assembly fragmented into 46 teams, around 25 people each, to navigate across various Brooklyn enclaves, visiting select venues that were exclusivity reserved for them. Popular spots amongst the locations like Brooklyn Bank and Prospect BK were filled to the brim with an infectious energy. Echoing the sentiments of unity, participant Prince Allen expressed to Gothamist, "One of the things about Kwanzaa is unity and that’s what we’re celebrating today."
The event's inception was deeply rooted in both community and urgency—emerging in the wake of harrowing instances of violence against Black individuals. The co-founder, Krystal Payne, spoke on the catalyst for the Kwanzaa Crawl, saying, "We wanted to figure out a way to give back to the community, and we realized that Black people need political empowerment and economic empowerment, and so we decided to focus our efforts on economic empowerment, and that’s how we started Kwanzaa Crawl," as recounted by PIX11. Notably, the event has been significant in generating income for black-owned enterprises with returns estimated around the $500,000 mark annually.
Ongoing support for the businesses involved in Kwanzaa Crawl is a core value that participants like Danica Daniel advocate for: "Every time I go to one of these bars, I’m like, I need to come back," she shared with PIX11.
