Space Coast Kwanzaa celebration casts light on history, culture

For Earl Simmons, the glowing lights accompanying the first night of Kwanzaa represents a much needed shot of illumination and a call to carry on the mission of awareness in what has been a year of challenges to African-American history, family and culture.

This Kwanzaa, the longtime member of the Nguzo Saba Collective that organizes celebrations of the seven-day holiday said the goal is to take the message of unity and cultural self-awareness to new, younger audiences.

“Today, the light of Kwanzaa is needed more than ever. There is a lot of good but a lot more needs to be done. There are still a lot of ills in the Black community,” said Simmons, who began keeping Kwanzaa in 2000 as an alternative to the materialism he saw creeping into other holidays.

“A lot of our children don’t have that self-awareness of who they are, where they come from, or that guidance in life. If you don’t have that, you drift. Kwanzaa is a vehicle that shines a light on the things that unite us as a community,” Simmons said.

More: The joy of Black culture, history to be celebrated at Kwanzaa event in Palm Bay

It is easy to think that the Black community, made up of 40 million African-Americans plus those from Central and South America along with the Caribbean islands, is a singular group but the truth is that there is a multitude of diversity embedded in what it means to be 'Black.' Kwanzaa – based on the ancient harvest festivals found in countless cultures across the expanse of the African continent – hopes to celebrate and unify the differences embedded in the idea of what it means to be of African descent, regardless of how we got here.

The holiday begins Dec. 26. This year, Simmons and organizers will hold the 12th Annual celebration at 7 p.m. Dec. 26 at JamRock Restaurant and Grill in Palm Bay, 160 Malabar Rd., on the day known as 'Umoja' or Unity in Swahili.

The group, on which I serve as one of the board members and organizers, revolves around the theme "Further to Fly: Celebrating Kwanzaa from the Coast to the Coastlands," with the focus being on connecting communities across the far-flung African diaspora from the U.S. to the Caribbean and Latin America through reflections, cultural values, food and discussions.

Kwanzaa, like other holidays, is also about letting the next generation know that the dreams of the past are simply the scaffolding of a future promise and that there is still a need to build on what's been handed to us by our ancestors. And that is a very real need in a world where our children all too often are getting lost in the dark with video games and sometimes with misinformed, unvetted TikTok clips.

The holiday — with increasing nods from businesses along with state and local governments —continues to grow in popularity and is needed even more at a time when school boards across the nation are allowing books on diversity and Black history to be pulled from the shelves, Simmons said.

The Pan-African holiday was born out of the brutal struggle of the civil rights movement, created by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga in 1966. Kwanzaa incorporated non-religious elements of African custom and social principles such as self-determination, unity and cooperative economics and is designed to teach history for a people whose history, language and values were replaced once assimilated into the western world.

In Brevard, a group of community leaders formed the Nguzo Saba – Swahili for seven principles – and began holding Kwanzaa celebrations in community centers, churches and restaurants, drawing together people of African-descent from differing cultures and faiths. Out of many voices and from many branches, we unify to become one.

Last year, the group drew more than 100 people to the Veggie Land restaurant in Palm Bay for reflections on history, spoken word and drumming. Palm Bay City Councilmember Kenny Johnson delivered a state of the community address that also talked about the seven principles of Kwanzaa, including self-determination, unity, collective work and responsibility, purpose, creativity and faith.

Dallas Clark, a community advocate and dancer, oversaw the lighting of the traditional kinara — a seven-branch candelabra that can represent the tree or roots that Africans share across the globe — as children gathered in the glow and watched quietly. This year, the event will feature community advocate and Melbourne city council candidate Marcus Smith as the keynote speaker.

There will also be exhibits from the 99th Squadron, a non-profit group that offers area middle and high school-aged youth opportunities to learn about the aviation industry and how to fly. The group set up a booth with a mock-up of flight controls along with other interactive material. Its founder, Ramone Hemphill, won FLORIDA TODAY's Volunteer of the Year award this month.

The Little Black Book Drive, the Space Coast community-based, non-partisan effort that provides youth with free books on STEM and Black history, will also distribute up to 100 books to children and teens attending, say organizers. All are welcome to attend, to learn of history and the unifying vision we still chase for our communities.

“My hope is that we hit on the important points of where our society is moving and then discuss what we need to do to tap into being a full part of that,” Simmons said. “If we don’t, then we will be out on the sidelines as a people watching the world pass us by.”

J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Coast Kwanzaa to cast light on Black history, culture