6th in a series on the 7 Kwanzaa Principles: Kuumba: Universality vs. Cultural-centric

Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

It would appear that the 6th principle of Kwanzaa finally speaks to not just Black people but to all people. Creating beauty is not just endemic to an African American culture, but it speaks to all people and cultures of the world.

Maybe this was the intent of the author (to speak to all people of the world) to make Kwanzaa principles universal, to speak to all people. The problem with that is that why create Kwanzaa in the first place for Black people?

In a recent article, a Jewish author (Joshua Neuman, Huffington Post, 12/23/08) writes What happened to Kwanzaa? Articles like this should solicit some reaction from Blacks, especially those tenured Black professors of History or Theology who have the titles that reflect their fluency in African American heritage and the Black community, and the many religious leaders who dresses up in African garb at least once a year to show that our great heritage is quite fashion-minded. The writer states:

. . .At a time when a black man can be elected President, the powers-that-be

seem to be saying African-Americans are much more ready (to)

embrace the de(-) facto American civic religion, Christianity. . . Whether it's gone

because nobody knew how to sell it, or because nobody wanted to buy it,

Kwanzaa is now nowhere to be found. . .

The article seems to acquiesce to the power of universality which, in a sense, states that nothing is special. For sure, Kwanzaa is not that special anymore. Maybe it has fallen victim to routinization or has completed its course and served its purpose. After all, our President-Elect has made it clear that a lot of black struggles are things of the past. We must now celebrate as Americans, not African Americans. Yes, we must now stop playing like Kwanzaa principles like Kuumba means anything special to Black America.

It might sound disparaging, but it is predictable that early in this next decade the fate of the relevance of Black American history (and any presupposed tradition) beyond its American slavery days will finally sealed. Even the history of slavery in America appears it has outrun its usefulness. What is really surreal is that the next great book can be rightfully entitled "The Death of a Culture". And, then too, perhaps the post-Kwanzaa talk is just as premature as the post-racial area. Michael Fauntroy that all of the post-racial stuff may be overkill:

. . .Those who see America as "post-racial" may well be guilty of prematurely hoisting the "mission accomplished" banner. They should be aware of some unfortunate truths that still frame the world in which many Americans still live. For example, African Americans comprise nearly half of the 2.4 million people incarcerated in the United States, but make up but 12 percent of the total population. African Americans also suffer from disproportionately high school dropout and poverty rates...

If this reasoning is acceptable, it's quite possible that Kwanzaa can still play a major role by making sure that its Principles are being accepted in a time where the American population may be feeling quite weary of centuries of racial conflict. However, it that is indeed the case, it may want to do more than just proclaim "post" racial.

So if indeed the principle of Kuumba can remain relevant, its presentation can's afford to be placed in a showcase where people observe it as history. But, instead the principle must be proactive in the hearts, actions and minds of lovers of justice and equality who would very much like to see a post-racial period. Meanwhile, a 'post' anything can not be proclaimed if so much negative 'stuff' from the past still requires serious attention.

Fauntroy writes:

...Thus, being "post-racial" is the frontier to be embraced and anything short of that is to be belittled. Celebrating a "post-racial" America is premature and those doing so may well be unwittingly leading a dangerous new attempt to overlook and ignore America's racial history and avoid public policy approaches to the systematic racial prejudice that still pervades our society...

So, since indeed we are not realistically in a post-racial mode, the univerasality of Kuumba should somehow prevail in making sure in passage of time principles like itself can help to make America a better place to live for all Americans.