Kwanzakkah: A way to celebrate dual heritage, and combat hate
This year's observance of both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa leads to 15 Days of Light
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Opinion The creator of Kwanzaa modified a Hanukkah menorah — and gave advice to Black Jews
When Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966, he borrowed the concept of a menorah — and according to some accounts, he physically altered one — to invent the seven-candle kinara. A generation later, he gave something back to Judaism. An uncompromising 1960s revolutionary turned university professor, Karenga was already a cultural icon, and his holiday…
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Opinion What Being The Only Black Kid At Jewish Summer Camp Taught Me About Hanukkah And Kwanzaa
The proximity yet disconnect between Hanukkah and Kwanzaa has always seemed to me to reflect the relationship between the Jewish and Black communities. These two Diasporas with complex intertwined histories remain in what feels like a constant, surface-level dialogue. Sometimes it bends towards disagreement. Occasionally, it brings potential-filled light-giving sparks, though rarely an enduring fire….
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News The Secret Jewish History of Kwanzaa
Fifty years ago, at the inaugural celebration of Kwanzaa, 60 black Americans gathered in a California living room to celebrate their distant African past. It was 1966. They wore dashikis and hand-woven headwear. A troupe of musicians played drums. Men and women bowed to each other and poured libations to the ancestors. Later, someone switched…
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