Safe Kwanzaa celebrations
Community leaders are trying to set an example by skipping large gatherings during the holiday.
Doris Fields always went big when it came to Kwanzaa.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging through the state, however, smaller was better when planning get-togethers during this year’s seven-day celebration.
Instead of inviting friends and family members for a large dinner and discussion on one of the holiday’s seven principles, and to honor elders, Fields will have a party for two.
“It will just be my wife and I having Kwanzaa together — just the two of us,” said Fields, a poet, activist and member of the Santa Fe branch of the NAACP.
“Our children will not come. Our grandchild will not come. No friends will come,” she said. “Now, we will have probably Zoom with a few people during that time, but we will not have a gathering.”
Kwanzaa, a 55-year-old celebration of African American culture based on seven key principles, began Saturday and continues through New Year’s Day. Like other major celebrations during the holiday season, its traditions have been hindered by the pandemic. Venues like the Genoveva Chavez Community Center and local churches will not hold their usual events due to the state’s public health orders aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Community leaders are trying to lead by example by not holding or attending large gatherings.
Tonya Covington, a community health worker and mediator in Albuquerque, said she normally takes part in community events tied to Kwanzaa but instead will spend time at home this year with her immediate family.
She is concerned others will ignore the health orders despite the risks.
“I felt like there were more Black
people who got together for Thanksgiving than I had hoped for,” Covington said. “A lot of them are just like, ‘We have to be with family. I’ve got older relatives, and if I don’t see them now, I might not ever see them again.’
“Then, of course, the COVID rates go up after a holiday like that,” she said. “It’s one of those things that we have to stop and think about.”
Cathryn McGill, founder and director of the New Mexico Black History Organizing Committee, said many families will keep their gatherings small, but changing habits is a challenge.
The holiday offers a chance for reflection, she added.
“It allows us to sort of focus on ethics-based kinds of ideals,” McGill said. “And in the midst of these difficulties and our sorrows, there is joy when we look at the seven principles of Kwanzaa.”
The holiday was created in 1965 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of African studies and an activist, as part of the Black Power movement to unify African Americans and encourage them to celebrate their past and their culture.
Fields emphasized it is not a religious holiday, but one of its seven principles is faith. The other six: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose and creativity.
Each year, the holiday is centered on a theme. Fields said the focus in 2020 is on children being the heirs and custodians of history and culture.
It couldn’t come at a better time, she said, given the uncertainty in the world, especially the upheaval caused by COVID-19.
Another pandemic has been ranging far longer, she said, and shouldn’t be ignored: systemic racism.
She noted the nationwide protests and demonstrations demanding racial justice following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
The novel coronavirus also spotlighted and exacerbated racial inequalities this year, taking a heavier toll on the nation’s minority populations.
Fields said Kwanzaa is a time to help guide children so they can understand their world better. She cited the public health crisis and how it has forced families to remain isolated from each other.
“That’s why it is so critical to work with children, to help them understand why we cannot be together right now and understand COVID, what it’s doing and its deadly potential,” Fields said. “As important as it is to be close to family — and familial support is one of the most important values and assets we have — we need to let children know it is important to be together, but right now we can’t. Addressing our health is more important right now.”
Still, Kwanzaa celebrants acknowledged the pandemic is taking some of the fun and excitement out of the holiday.
Debra Johns, a teacher with Albuquerque Public Schools, said she was involved in events at the University of New Mexico that brought former and current students together during Kwanzaa.
This sometimes served as an introduction of the holiday to students who weren’t familiar with its traditions.
Johns will take part in a virtual event just to keep the traditions alive, she said.
“Yeah, it’s taken a step backward, but we’ll get it back together by next year,” Johns said.
Covington said the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice is co-sponsoring a Kwanzaa Celebration Series that will include ceremonies, music and poetry to begin and end the holiday.
She might also do a few Zoom meetings with family and friends to stay in contact with them, she said.
“There is just something about being close enough to touch each other that kinda helps,” Covington said. “It’s going to be really different not having that this year.”